Wells Fargo profit falls as pandemic hits growth

[October 14, 2020]  (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co <WFC.N> reported a 57% drop in third-quarter profit on Wednesday as the bank's loan book shrank and near-zero interest rates and higher costs hurt its bottom line.

The bank reported net income applicable to common stock of $1.72 billion, or 42 cents per share, for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with $4.04 billion, or 92 cents per share a year earlier.

Analysts had expected a profit of 45 cents per share, according to Refinitiv data, but it was not immediately clear if the numbers were comparable.

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru and Imani Moise in New York; Editing by Bernard Orr)

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