U.S. Banks 4Q22: Good Finish Despite Ongoing Uncertainties; Well Positioned for an Unpredictable 2023

This commentary reviews the 4Q22 results for U.S. banks.

Key highlights include:

• Consistent with our expectations, U.S. banks posted solid results in 4Q22, capping off a good year amid an unprecedented operating environment.

• Bottom line results remained favorable and in line with recent periods. Highlights included continued growth in net interest income and exceptionally strong trading results, partially offset by higher loan loss provisions due to modest deterioration in the economic outlook and loan growth.

• With all DBRS Morningstar-rated U.S. banks currently having Stable trends, we would expect very limited changes to our ratings during 2023.

“We see U.S. banks in our coverage universe as recession ready, considering their strong capital and liquidity positions, still pristine asset quality metrics and favorable results during the pandemic and in severely adverse stress tests,” said Michael McTamney, CFA, Senior Vice President – Global FIG.