Top U.S. Banks Set for Worst Quarter Since Financial Crisis

  • Pandemic seen sparking another round of loan-loss reserves
  • Trading revenue again expected to help banks weather crisis

A pedestrian walks past a  Fargo & Co. Bank branch in New York, U.S.

Photographer: Mark Kauzlarich/Bloomberg
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U.S. banks had only a few weeks’ experience with the full-blown pandemic when they last tried to forecast how bad things would get. Now, they’re about to reveal what three more months of Covid-19 did to the industry.

Second-quarter results, set for release next week, will probably show that the trends that took hold at the start of the year only intensified: surging provisions for loan losses and slumping consumer spending, with trading gains helping some banks weather the storm.