A summary of the main North America banks' financial results for the third quarter as they relate to wealth management and private banking.

The results focus on the largest institutions which provide wealth management. 

Not all banks report on a calendar year schedule, or on the same day, and not all the institutions are alike, so the results from standalone institutions should be viewed differently from wealth management results embedded within a larger group. These results may be subsequently revised. We hope readers find it useful to see these figures collated in one article and can make a few comparisons. To comment, email tom.burroughes@wealthbriefing.com

Goldman Sachs
It reported net revenues of $12.70 billion and net earnings of $2.99 billion. Net revenues were $39.64 billion and net earnings were $10.17 billion for the first nine months of 2024. Asset and wealth management generated quarterly net revenues of $3.75 billion, including record quarterly management and other fees.

Citigroup
The wealth arm more than doubled its net income to $283 million in the third quarter of 2024 from a year ago ($132 million), with gains in the Citigold mass-affluent segment helping to produce the result. Private bank total revenue dipped to £614 million from $617 million. The Citigold revenue rose 13 per cent year-on-year to $1.144 billion. Total operating expenses in the wealth business of the US banking group dropped by 4 per cent; net credit losses fell 23 per cent year-on-year to $27 million.

JP Morgan
Net income in the third quarter of 2024 slipped year-on-year to $1.351 billion from $1.417 billion for its asset and wealth management business, a unit including its private bank. Net revenue in this segment rose to $5.439 billion in Q3 2024 from $5.005 billion a year earlier; noninterest costs rose to $3.639 billion from $3.138 billion a year earlier. Provision for credit losses was $4 million, against a $13 million net release in Q3 2023. Assets under management were $3.9 trillion and client assets were $5.7 trillion, each up 23 per cent, driven by higher market levels and continued net inflows.

Bank of America
Its wealth management arm, including its private bank, logged a little-changed third-quarter net income result of $1.061 billion versus $1.033 billion a year ago. Total client balances stood at a record $4.193 trillion at September 30, 2024, up from $3.55 trillion a year earlier. AuM figures were propelled in part by flows of $21.3 billion in the quarter, up from $14.2 billion a year ago and $10.8 billion in the three months to the end of June. 

Total revenue in the wealth business rose to $5.762 billion in Q3 2024, from $5.321 billion a year before; there was a small ($7 million) credit loss provision against a net release of $6 million in Q3 2023. Within Bank of America Private Bank, client balances hit a record of $667 billion.

Northern Trust 
It reported a 42 per cent year-on-year jump in net income to $464.9 million in the third quarter of 2024, helped by a 14 per cent revenue rise drop in provision for credit losses. Trust, investment and other servicing fees rose 8 per cent year-on-year to $1.196 billion in Q3 2024. Other noninterest income rose 32 per cent to $209.6 million; net interest income rose 21 per cent to $569.4 million. 

Wealth management assets under custody/administration rose 19 per cent to $1.145 trillion. Total assets under custody stood at $13.794 trillion at the end of September, up 25 per cent on a year ago. Among the segments, the Global Family Office area logged total servicing fees of $529.5 billion, a rise of 9 per cent on a year ago.

Morgan Stanley
Revenues in the third quarter of 2024 rose 14 per cent to $7.3 billion from $6.4 billion a year ago. The figure was boosted by the positive effect of deferred compensation plans. Record pre-tax income of $2.1 billion in the quarter resulted in a pre-tax margin of 28.3 per cent. Asset management revenues ($4.266 billion) rose from a year ago on higher asset levels and the cumulative impact of positive fee-based flows.

BNY 
It reported a 16 per cent year-on-year rise in net income applicable to common shareholders, at $1.11 billion. The group has an adjusted pre-tax margin of 33 per cent. Total fee revenues rose 5 per cent to $3.4 billion; total revenues also rose 5 per cent to $4.648 billion. Noninterest expenses were unchanged at $3.1 billion, it said in a statement.

Assets under management, as at September 30, rose 18 per cent year-on-year to $2.144 trillion; income from wealth management clients rose 14 per cent to $333 billion. Wealth management revenue rose 6 per cent to $280 million. The year-over-year increase primarily reflects higher market values and net interest income, partially offset by changes in product mix.

Wells Fargo
Its wealth and investment management businesses – including its private bank – reported $529 million in net income for the third quarter of 2024, unchanged on a year earlier. Net interest income fell 16 per cent year-on-year to $842 million; noninterest income rose 13 per cent to $3.036 billion. Total revenue rose by 5 per cent to $3.878 billion

BlackRock
It reported that its total AuM hit $11.4785 trillion at the end of September, rising from $9.1 trillion a year ago and propelled by $221.18 billion of net flows in the quarter, contrasting with $2.6 billion a year ago.