Banks gain from Trump and Fed

Article Excerpt

Dear client, J.P. Morgan has jumped 16% in the past three months, while Wells Fargo is up 12%. Those gains are partly because the new Trump administration has pledged to reduce some of the previous administration’s banking regulations. Spending less on compliance would free up more cash for dividends and share buybacks. As well, the U.S. Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate in December 2016. With a stronger economy, it plans more rate hikes in 2017. That will let banks earn higher interest income on new mortgages, and car and credit card loans. J.P. MORGAN CHASE & CO. $91 (New York symbol JPM; Income Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 3.6 billion; Market cap: $327.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.6; Dividend yield: 2.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.jpmorganchase.com) is the largest banking firm in the U.S., with total assets of $2.5 trillion as of December 31, 2016. Morgan has four main divisions: Consumer and Community Banking, including branches and credit cards (45% of 2016 revenue, 38%…