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U.S. Bancorp ends year on strong note, though it lags other top banks – Star Tribune

Written by Amanda

U.S. Bancorp ended its year with hefty earnings strengthened by higher fees and disciplined spending, as executives predicted revenue growth of up to 5% this year.

The Minneapolis-based company that runs U.S. Bank, the fifth-largest bank in the nation, delivered net income of $1.75 billion for the last three months of the year, up 7% from the fourth quarter the year before.

In a call with analysts Thursday morning, CEO Andy Cecere called 2024 a “pivotal year for the company in many ways.”

The chief executive pointed to uncertainties such as inflation, rate volatility and regulatory concerns last year, saying the company “effectively managed through the changes.”

“It was effective balance sheet management, our financial discipline and expanding interconnectedness across the franchise that enabled us to fully deliver the strong results we did this quarter, and [we] fully expect that momentum to continue into 2025,” Cecere said.

The earnings came a day after several other of the nation’s largest banks, including Citigroup and Wells Fargo, posted banner quarters to close out the year. New York-based JPMorgan Chase, the nation’s largest bank, touted a net income gain of 50% in an outcome that beat Wall Street expectations.

U.S. Bank leaders point to disciplined approach in expenses as it trimmed its scale of brick-and-mortar corporate office spaces and its spending on third-party consulting. The bank has also limited its staff numbers, choosing not to refill positions lost to natural attrition, John Stern, U.S. Bank’s chief financial officer, said in an interview Thursday.

“Our headcount has declined over the year,” Stern said. “But again, it’s more or less not filling positions as people leave and getting better at being operationally efficient within our core processes. That’s really the bottom line.”

Source: startribune.com

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Amanda

Hi there, I am Amanda and I work as an editor at impactinvesting.ai;  if you are interested in my services, please reach me at amanda.impactinvesting.ai