JPMorgan posts record annual profits as major US banks thrive in the final quarter of 2024 [AP]
JPMorgan’s net income soared 50% to more than $14 billion in the fourth quarter as the bank’s profit and revenue easily beat Wall Street forecasts…. Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs also issued strong results on Wednesday.
Citigroup Soars as Fraser Plans to Buy Back $20 Billion of Stock [Bloomberg via Yahoo!]
The announcement was part of the bank’s stronger-than-expected results for the fourth quarter, in which revenue rose across all five of its main business lines. The lender said it now expects revenue to rise to $83.5 billion to $84.5 billion in 2025, higher than what analysts were anticipating.
SEC sues Elon Musk, alleging failure to properly disclose Twitter ownership [CNBC]
According to the SEC’s civil complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., Musk was more than 10 days late in reporting that material information, “allowing him to underpay by at least $150 million for shares he purchased after his financial beneficial ownership report was due….” Musk is just a week away from having unparalleled influence in the White House, as President-elect Donald Trump’s second term begins on Jan. 20.
BlackRock Executive Seen as Leading CEO Contender to Leave Firm [WSJ]
[Mark] Wiedman’s decision to leave was his own, and he will remain at BlackRock through the spring, one of the people said. He doesn’t have another job lined up and committed to [CEO Larry] Fink that he wouldn’t start serious conversations about a new role until after his departure…. Remaining executives seen as potential successors to Fink include finance chief Martin Small, chief operating officer Rob Goldstein, and Rachel Lord, head of the international.
Apollo Promotes Two Potential Successors to CEO Marc Rowan [WSJ]
James Zelter, 62 years old and co-president of Apollo’s asset management arm, will become president of the holding company that also includes insurance company Athene, the firm said Wednesday. John Zito, the firm’s 43-year-old head of credit, will take Zelter’s place as co-president of the asset management arm alongside Scott Kleinman.
US bank regulator fines three former Wells Fargo executives over fake accounts scandal [Reuters via Yahoo!]
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said Claudia Russ Anderson, the bank’s former community bank group risk officer, would be fined $10 million and prohibited from working in the banking industry. David Julian, the bank’s former chief auditor and Paul McLinko, its former executive audit director, were fined $7 million and $1.5 million, respectively….
The OCC said Russ Anderson failed to credibly challenge the bank’s incentive compensation program…. The OCC said Julian and McLinko failed to effectively audit the bank in a way that would have detected the misconduct, and failed to escalate the issues.
