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Banks meet or beat targets
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April 18, 2000: 2:35 p.m. ET
Bank One sees profit, revenue fall; Wells Fargo, Mellon beat estimates
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Three major regional banks met or exceeded first quarter earnings estimates Tuesday.
Chicago-based Bank One Corp. had the greatest trouble of the three, meeting estimates with a 40 percent drop in net income. Pittsburgh-based Mellon Financial Corp. and San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co. both beat forecasts by one cent a share with improved results.
Bank One (ONE: Research, Estimates), the nation's fourth-largest bank holding company, reported net income of $689 million, or 60 cents a diluted share, in line with forecasts of analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call. The company reported net income of $1.2 billion, or 96 cents a share a year earlier, but that included an 8-cent a share gain related to merger activity that was excluded by analysts for purposes of comparison.
 The bank said profit was lower partly due losses for its online bank, WingspanBank.com, as well as lower investment securities gains and the effect of higher interest rates not allocated to a business line.
The bank saw net interest income drop to $1.8 billion from $2.0 billion, after provisions for credit losses, which rose to $362 million from $281 million. Total non-interest income also fell to $1.8 billion from $2.6 billion a year earlier. The biggest part of that decline came from a reduction in credit card revenue to $578 million from $929 million a year earlier.
Bank One is the Midwest's largest commercial bank, with about 2,000 branches in 14 states in the Midwest and Southwest. Despite the problems, shares of Bank One still rose 1-1/4 to 31-1/2 in trading Tuesday.
Wells Fargo advances on revenue growth
Wells Fargo reported record net income of $1.0 billion, or 61 cents a diluted share, in the quarter, marking the first time it crossed the billon-dollar mark for quarterly profit. First Call forecast income of 60 cents a diluted share in the period. The bank made $884 million, or 53 cents a share, in the year earlier period.
 The bank's total revenue rose 9 percent to $4.4 billion from $4.0 billion a year earlier, although its revenue slipped from the fourth quarter of 1999's level of $4.5 billion. Net interest income climbed 9 percent after provisions for loan loss to $2.2 billion, while non-interest income increased 11 percent to $1.9 billion.
Wells Fargo (WFC: Research, Estimates) has branches in 22 states, mostly in the West, and has been an active player in consolidation. It most recently agreed to purchase Salt Lake City-based First Security Corp. (FSCO: Research, Estimates) for $3.2 billion, marking the fourth purchase announced this year.
Shares of Wells Fargo gained 1-11/16 to 41-1/16 in trading Tuesday.
Mellon profit improves despite revenue drop
Mellon Financial reported income from operations of $253 million, or 50 cents a share. First Call had forecast profits of 49 cents a share in the period. The company made $231 million, or 43 cents a share, in the year-earlier period.
 Total non-interest revenue fell to $793 million from $872 million a year earlier, but that difference could be attributed to an $83 million net gain from divestitures. Net interest income slipped to $351 million from $371 million a year earlier.
Mellon Financial (MEL: Research, Estimates) has moved its focus away from tradition commercial banking to concentrate on services such as trusts, global custody and mutual funds, through subsidiaries such as its Dreyfus Corp., one of the nation's largest funds managers. It still operates traditional banks in eight states stretching from Massachusetts to California.
Shares of Mellon rose 11/16 to 31-15/16 in trading Tuesday. 
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