The spread of COVID-19 was visible on both the balance sheet for JPMorgan Chase [1]and Wells Fargo [2], with the banking giants announcing revenue declines in Q1 2020.
Wells Fargo reported revenue during the quarter of $17.7 billion—down from $21.6 billion during Q1 2019. The bank also built a reserve of $3.1 billion.
Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf said in a release, “Wells Fargo plays an important role in the financial system and the economic strength of our country, and we take our responsibility seriously, particularly in these unprecedented times.”
CFO John Shrewsberry said the $3.1 billion in reserves reflects the “expected impact these unprecedented times could have on our customers.”
The bank also reported a 46% annual drop in noninterest income form mortgage banking, falling from $708 million in Q1 2019 to $379 million in Q1 2020.
JPMorgan announced a net income was $2.9 billion, which is down 69% year-over-year. Quarter-to-quarter, net revenue was down 3% to $29.1 billion. The bank also announced it built-in reserves of $6.8 billion.
“The first quarter delivered some unprecedented challenges and required us to focus on what we as a bank could do—outside of our ordinary course of business—to remain strong, resilient, and well-positioned to support all of our stakeholders,” said Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan.
Home lending for JPMorgan was $1.2 billion for the quarter, which is down 14% annually. The bank said this is due to lower net servicing revenue and lower net interest income on lower balances.
The spread of COVID-19 has impacted almost every sector of the economy and housing has not been immune. One of the hardest-hit areas has been the servicers, as forbearance programs are causing a liquidity shortage for mortgage servicers.
In an effort to assist servicers, Ginnie Mae announced [3] an All Participants Memorandum (APM) on, expanding its servicer assistance program in response to the spread of COVID-19.
The APM introduces a new version of the existing Pass-Through Assistance Program (PTAP) for servicers facing a temporary liquidity shortfall related to coronavirus.