Wild swings: US bank profits sank 36.5% in 2020 as COVID raged

Banks posted $147.9bn in profits in 2020, a significant drop from record 2019 levels, a regulatory group said on Tuesday.

United States bank profits fell 36.5 percent in 2020 from the year prior as banks set aside massive amounts to guard against potential losses, but the industry showed signs of strengthening in the fourth quarter as the economy begins to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, a regulator reported Tuesday. The industry posted $147.9bn in profits in 2020, a sharp decline from record 2019 profits, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). However, bank profits were up 9.1 percent in the fourth quarter to $59.9bn compared to a year prior as firms shrank how much cash they set aside to guard against losses.