Banks see a 'resilient' US economy but warn of negative impacts from
rising energy prices
[April 15, 2026] NEW
YORK (AP) — The nation’s biggest banks posted another quarter of strong
profits, helped by a resilient economy and a flurry of dealmaking for
their investment banking units.
But the strong profits were clouded by the bank’s outlook for 2026, as
bank executives warned how high oil prices were starting to negatively
impact the consumer and further geopolitical uncertainty could hamper
economic growth as the year progresses.
“There is an increasingly complex set of risks,” Jamie Dimon, CEO and
chairman of JPMorgan Chase, said in a statement, referencing to wars,
energy prices and trade wars as some of the current risks in the global
economy. In response, the bank slightly lowered its full-year profit
forecast.
Dimon further called these tensions as “significant and they reinforce
why we prepare the firm for a wide range of environments.”
This quarter, it was the investment banks at all of the major banks that
drove revenue to Wall Street during the first three months of the year.
JPMorgan reported a 30% jump in investment banking fees, while Citigroup
reported a 12% rise in advisory fees.
The rise in markets and investment banking fees was not a surprise.
Markets have been intensely volatile in the first three months of the
year, and those swings of volatility are great for the professional
trading desks stationed at all the major banks. Further, many companies
are pursuing mergers, acquisitions or going public, which has provided
another stream of revenue for Wall Street.
However, bank executives warned that the extreme swings could have
downstream impacts to the U.S. economy, particularly energy prices. In a
call with reporters, Wells Fargo Chief Financial Officer Mike
Santomassimo said the bank was seeing customers was spending 30% to 40%
more toward gas on their debit cards, while cutting back on
discretionary purchases. CEO Charlie Scharf added to those comments in a
call with investors, saying higher energy prices were putting pressure
on some of its lower income customers.
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 While Dimon described the economy
was “resilient” he also said, “the impact of higher oil prices will
likely take some time to materialize” in the economy if it lingers.
The American consumer also continues to spend more on their credit
cards as well as add to their balances on those accounts. JPMorgan
said credit card loans were up 7% from a year ago, while Citigroup
also saw its credit card loans rise by a lesser 2%.
JPMorgan posted a profit of $16.49 billion, up 13% from a year
earlier. On a per-share basis, the bank earned $5.94. Wells Fargo
earned a profit of $5.25 billion and Citigroup had a profit of $5.79
billion.
Wells Fargo said that it had roughly $36 billion in exposure to
private credit loans, but that those loans are still performing
well. Investors have been concerned about Wall Street's exposure to
private credit, which are loans made between a bank or private
credit fund to companies that became a popular form of financing in
the last several years. But those private credit loans have been
showing signs of deterioration, and there have been some private
credit funds that have had investors asking for their money back.
JPMorgan and Citi also said they had $50 billion and $22 billion in
exposure to private credit loans, respectively.
In a call with investors, JPMorgan's Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey
Barnum said the bank remains “broadly comfortable” with the private
credit loans on its books.
On Monday, Goldman Sachs reported first-quarter net earnings of $5.6
billion, or $17.55 per share, on net revenue of $17.2 billion, as
strength in its trading and investment banking businesses also
lifted its results.
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