Thompson said Charlotte, North Carolina-based Wachovia had boosted its loan loss provisionfor the fourth quarter to about $1 billion from a previous $500 million to $600 million.
He said fourth-quarter losses from commercial and consumer mortgages, leveraged finance and structured products, including subprime-backed mortgage securities, had reached about $1.4 billion, similar to the level seen in the third quarter.
Pittsburgh-based PNC now expects to report earnings of 60 to 75 cents a share for the quarter, or between $1.00 and $1.15 excluding items. Analysts on average had expected PNC to report earnings of $1.33 a share before items.
The changes reflect a write-down of $1.5 billion in commercial mortgage loans, weak trading results amid market volatility and a higher provision for credit losses stemming from residential real estate development, it said.
Bank of America's Lewis said he had hoped that the Federal Reserve would cut rates by half a point rather than the quarter point cut it made Tuesday "because the capital markets are still so fragile."
Lewis said in response to analysts' questions that the bank hopes to sell off some of its 9 percent stake in China Construction Bank starting in 2008 and is "talking to the Chinese to see what level they would be comfortable with us holding."
Wachovia's Thompson said despite the difficult environment, he expected to grow earnings in 2008. He added that the bank might consider raising capital next year in a "relatively inexpensive form," such as a preferred stock offering.