LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Financial services group Wells Fargo reported declining quarterly profits on Friday as a recent settlement and a need for growing reserves took their toll.
Wells Fargo said earnings per share came to $0.67 per share for the quarter as revenues slipped 5.7% to $19.66bn, lower than the $19.98bn predicted by analysts, and provisions for credit losses more than doubled to $957.0m.

The bank's weak earnings come hot on the heels of the announcements of a $2.8bn post-tax operating loss and its retrenching from the US mortgage market.

"Though the quarter was significantly impacted by previously disclosed operating losses, our underlying performance reflected the progress we are making to improve returns," said chief executive Charlie Scharf.

"Rising interest rates drove strong net interest income growth, credit losses have continued to increase slowly but credit quality remained strong, and we continue to make progress on our efficiency initiatives."

As of 1400 GMT, Wells Fargo shares were down 3.74% in pre-market trading at $41.23 each.



Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

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