Fourth-quarter Bank Earnings Mixed (JPM, BAC, C, WFC)

Of 319 banks and thrifts reporting fourth-quarter earnings as of February 1st, just 45% posted a sequential earnings increase. For the full-year, however, 71% of the reporting institutions posted a rise in earnings.

The data includes the biggest US banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C), and Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC).

According to research fimr SNL Financial:

Of the largest 20 banks and thrifts by assets, 17 reported a decline in EPS from the prior quarter and 11 showed a year-over-year decrease. When comparing actual EPS reported by the largest 20 to their mean diluted EPS estimate as provided by FactSet, 12 companies missed, two met, and only six companies exceeded expectations.

Another interesting data point from SNL:

Earning trends looked more impressive for banks with assets less than $1 billion. Of these banks, 56% saw their EPS increase over the third quarter of 2011. Less than half of banks between $1 billion and $10 billion in assets grew earnings per share from the prior quarter. To date, about 93% of companies have been profitable.

The report is available here.