ALSO IN EARNINGS
- Greek Cabinet Approves EU, IMF Bailout Bill
- We're Not Greece: Italian Prime Minister Monti
- Private Homebuilders in the US: Dead Men Walking
- Dividend Payout Could Hit Record Amount This Year
- With Investors So Bullish, Stock Pullback Must Be Ahead
- Obama Likely to Call for Cutting Top Corporate Tax Rate
- New York Fashion Week Fall 2012
- NetNet: Why Saving Greece Could Destroy the World
- My Funny Valentine: When Love and the Fed Collide
MOST POPULAR
HOT ON FACEBOOK
Wells Fargo Posts First Profit Decline in Six Years
Text Size 
Wells Fargo Wednesday said fourth-quarter profit fell 38 percent, the first decline in more than six years, hurt by rising losses from home equity loans.
Credit losses are mounting industrywide as the U.S. housing sector slumps and credit markets
tighten. Wells Fargo [WFC
Loading...
()
] is the nation's fifth-largest bank and second-largest mortgage lender.
Net income for the San Francisco-based bank fell to $1.36 billion, or 41 cents per share, from $2.18 billion, or 64 cents, a year earlier. Revenue increased 8 percent to $10.21 billion.
Analysts on average expected a profit of 39 cents per share on revenue of $10 billion.
Wells Fargo added $1.4 billion to reserves for credit losses, reducing after-tax profit by 27 cents per share.
The bank also said it expects a challenging environment in 2008, especially in the consumer sector.
Chief Financial Officer Howard Atkins in prepared comments on the company's Web site said charge-offs will likely rise in 2008 "given the weakness in housing and overall state of the U.S. economy."
Wells Fargo shares closed Tuesday at $26.49 on the New York Stock Exchange. Through Tuesday, they had fallen 27 percent in the last year compared with a 31 percent drop in the Philadelphia KBW Bank Index.
- Marketing clichés aside, sometimes diamonds are for investing.
- The ‘Fast Money’ traders weigh in on fashion related stocks from apparel to footwear.
- This list of the 10 most active cities for speed traps was compiled by Trapster.com. See if your town is there.
- This Valentine’s Day should prove a love fest for restaurants, as many couples will be dining out.
- Here’s a look at Westminster Kennel Club’s most successful breeds—and how much they cost.
- What kind of homes do celebrity couples share? Here’s our updated list. Take a look.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes
