Five Things to Watch as Big Banks Kick Off Earnings This Week

Falling interest rates have been one of the biggest obstacles
CEOs will have to lean on cost cuts to meet profit targets

Betsy Graseck, Morgan Stanley head of banks and diversified finance research, talks about bank earnings.Daybreak: Americas." (Corrects spelling of guest’s name and adds affiliation to headline.) (Source: Bloomberg)

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By Gwen Everett and Hannah Levitt

October 14, 2019 at 3:31 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Falling interest rates were a major third-quarter headwind for U.S. banks, cutting into the revenue they earn on loans and pushing chief executives to dig even deeper for cost savings to keep profit targets on track.

But don’t look to the companies’ trading operations to rescue earnings when the biggest firms begin reporting results Tuesday. Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. are among firms that have been lowering expectations on that front. Ditto for investment-banking fees, which are suffering from a drop in mergers.