The country’s biggest banks ended the year with bumper profits. Here’s how lenders managed to rake in billions of dollars in a year when interest rates started falling and Donald Trump was elected president.

1. Wall Street

Big banks with Wall Street arms saw major surges in revenue in 2024 after the drought of the previous two years. That was thanks in large part to American corporations’ growing optimism, which had companies issuing bonds and taking on more debt to grow their businesses.