US Banks See Consumers Piling On Debt, Boosting Bottom Lines
- Card balances rose in the fourth quarter, and so did bad loans
- Investors shake off lower-than-expected forecasts for lending
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US banks see tougher times ahead for consumers. That may not be so bad for the banks.
The heads of the nation’s four largest lenders — JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. and Citigroup Inc. — took turns in calls Friday describing customers who are drawing down savings, piling up debt on credit cards and in a growing number of cases struggling to make their payments.