Wells Fargo & Company EPS 5 percent better
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For fourth quarter 2014, net income was $5.7 billion, or $1.02 per share, compared with $5.6
billion, or $1.00 per share, for fourth quarter 2013. Revenue was $21.4 billion in the fourth quarter, up from $21.2 billion in third quarter 2014, driven by an increase in net interest income. Revenue sources remained balanced between spread and fee income and the sources of fee income were broad-based.
Investment securities were $312.9 billion at December 31, 2014, up $23.9 billion from third quarter.
This was partially offset by lower income from a reduction in loans held-for-sale and mortgages held-for-sale.
Investment securities were $312.9 billion at December 31, 2014, up $23.9 billion from third quarter. Purchases of approximately $35 billion, primarily U.S. Treasury and federal agency securities, were partially offset by run-off and maturities.
The company had net unrealized available-for-sale securities gains of $7.8 billion at December 31, 2014, up from $6.6 billion at September 30, 2014, primarily driven by marketable equity securities.
Average total deposits for fourth quarter 2014 were $1.1 trillion, up 8 percent from a year ago and up 8 percent (annualized) from third quarter 2014, driven by both commercial and consumer growth. The average deposit cost for fourth quarter 2014 was 9 basis points, an improvement of 1 basis point from the prior quarter and 2 basis points from a year ago.
Average core deposits were $1.0 trillion, up 7 percent from a year ago and up 9 percent (annualized) from third quarter 2014. Average mortgage escrow deposits were $29.2 billion, compared with $28.2 billion a year ago and $30.7 billion in third quarter 2014.
Capital levels continued to be strong in the fourth quarter, with Common Equity Tier 1 of $137.2 billion under Basel III (General Approach), or 11.04 percent of risk-weighted assets. The Common Equity Tier 1 ratio under Basel III (Advanced Approach, fully phased-in) was 10.44 percent4.
In fourth quarter 2014, the company purchased 61.6 million shares of its common stock and entered into a $750 million forward repurchase transaction for an additional estimated 14.3 million shares which is expected to settle in first quarter 2015. The company also paid a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.35 per share, up from $0.30 per share a year ago. ■