Despite the corona crisis: major US banks are making strong profits

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Goldman Sachs logo in New York

Photo: REUTERS

America’s big banks experienced a spectacular boom in the first quarter.

The US investment bank Goldman Sachs, for example, has increased its net profit sixfold to $ 6.7 billion, far exceeding market expectations.

The corporate income rose by 102 percent to 17.7 billion dollars, as the money house announced.

Goldman Sachs benefited above all from the boom with wallets, so-called SPACs.

These are listed companies without their own business, but with the aim of bringing another company public through a merger.

Goldman raked in heavy fees on this controversial deal.

The bank also plays a key role in organizing the upcoming IPO of the Coinbase cryptocurrency platform.

The collapse of the hedge fund Archegos Capital left no major wounds at Goldman.

Previously on Wednesday, the major bank JPMorgan had already reported a jump in profits in the first quarter.

At $ 14.3 billion, the surplus was around five times as high as a year earlier.

This was mainly due to the fact that the bank released billions in provisions for impaired loans due to the recovery in the US economy.

In addition, earnings rose sharply thanks to a boom in the trading business.

The US bank Wells Fargo has also multiplied its profits.

The bottom line was that the institute earned $ 4.7 billion in the three months to the end of March.

The result increased by more than 600 percent compared to the same period in the previous year, when the pandemic started and business had rattled.

Wells Fargo's balance sheet also benefited greatly from the fact that billions in provisions were reduced due to the improved economic situation.