Coronavirus fallout and economic upheaval took a toll on Wells Fargo’s wealth management business.
Wealth management net income fell 70% year-over-year to land at $180 million for the second quarter, the company said.
It’s a sign of potentially challenging times for wealth managers, some of whom reported similar declines this week. JPMorgan Chase said net income for its Asset & Wealth Management business fell 8% to $658 million. First Republic said wealth management revenue of $113.9 million for the second quarter, down 5.3%.
Morgan Stanley and Bank of America, which owns Merrill Lynch, report earnings later this week.
To be sure, Wells Fargo faces a few challenges unique to its business, namely attrition in its advisor ranks. Then an economic downturn, spurred on by the coronavirus, buffeted the firm during the recent quarter.
Net interest income dropped 29% to $736 million, due to the lower interest rate environment. Client assets, at $1.8 trillion, were down 4%, according to the bank’s earnings report issued July 14.
The wealth unit said it set aside $257 million as a provision for credit losses, which
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There were few bright spots elsewhere for Wells Fargo, which reported a companywide net loss for the quarter of $2.4 billion. It also cut its dividend to 10 cents per share from 51 cents — below what analysts were expecting (Keefe, Bruyette & Woods forecasted a cut to 20 cents).
Chief Executive Officer Charlie Scharf said in a statement that he was “extremely disappointed” in the second quarter results.
Analysts agreed. “Overall there were not many positive data points to hang your hat on,” analysts for Keefe, Bruyette & Woods wrote in a research note.
