Wells Fargo Q2 revenue tops forecast, profit up slightly

Wells Fargo & Company, the largest U.S. mortgage lender, on Friday reported better-than-expected revenue for the second quarter of 2014, while its quarterly profit improved slightly.
The bank posted net income of 5.7 billion U.S. dollars, or 1.01 dollars per diluted common share, for the quarter, up from 5.5 billion dollars, or 98 cents per share, in the year-ago period. The company' s per-share earnings for the second quarter met analysts' forecast.
Meanwhile, its total revenue in the second quarter was 21.1 billion dollars, down 1 percent from the same period of last year but was stronger than market expectations.
"By continuing to serve customers, we grew loans, increased deposits and deepened our relationships," said John Stumpf, Wells Fargo's chairman and chief executive officer.
"Our results also reflected strong credit quality driven by an improved economy, especially the housing market, and our continued risk discipline," he added.
Wells Fargo reported that its total average loans in the second quarter rose 4 percent from a year ago, while total average deposits rose 9 percent year-on-year.
The bank also said that its total nonperforming asset went down 3.0 billion dollars in the second quarter, representing a 14-percent decline from last year.
Wells Fargo is the first major U.S. bank to publish results in the new earnings season. More results from other major U.S. banks are due to come out next week.