Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo shine, almost
After three consecutive loss quarters, it’s the end of the nail biting in Morgan Stanley’s executive lounge - the bank finally made a profit of $498 million, compared to analysts’ estimates of $380 million. The improvement mostly came from higher investment-banking fees. From their side, Wells Fargo announced on Wednesday that its third-quarter profit was not only better than its second quarter, but nearly double what it was a year ago: they earned $3.2 billion, compared to $2.1 billion. But both banks still reported higher loan losses as consumers struggle to pay off their bills. Wells Fargo predicted credit losses would peak in 2010.
