UPDATE 1-Wells Fargo profit jumps 24 pct to record high
(Adds details on mortgages, analysts' estimates)
Jan 11 (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co on Friday said fourth-quarter profit r ose 24 percent t o a record high as the bank set aside less money to cover bad loans and made more fees from mortgages.
The fourth-biggest U.S. bank said net income was $5.1 billion, or 91 cents a share, compared with $4.1 billion, or 73 cents a share, in the same period a year earlier.
The latest results included a previously announced pre-tax charge of $644 million for Wells Fargo's share of an $8.5 billion settlement that ends a U.S. government-mandated review of financial crisis-era foreclosures. 1/8ID: nL1E9C73TJ 3/8
Analysts' average earnings forecast was 88 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. It was not immediately clear if the results were comparable.
Wells Fargo, the largest U.S. home lender, sa id fees from mortgages climbe d to $ 3.1 b illion from $2.4 billion a year ago as homeowners continued to refinance their homes at low rates. The bank issued $12 5 bil lion in mortgages during the quarter, which was down from $139 billion in the third quarter.
The bank's provision for loan losses fell to $1.8 billion from about $2 billion a year ago as borrowers continued to do a better job of making their payments.
(Reporting By Rick Rothacker in Charlotte, North Carolina; editing by John Wallace)