Investment Banking

Wall Street’s bank outlooks dim as Trump’s trade wars weigh

Softening forecasts for bank earnings are a symptom of the wider economic and policy uncertainty facing the US

U.S. bank stocks have tumbled so far under the Trump administration.
U.S. bank stocks have tumbled so far under the Trump administration. Photo: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg

Clouds are gathering around U.S. banks, which are on strong footing—but not as strong as industry executives, analysts, and investors expected they’d be during the second Trump administration’s early days.

Analysts in the past week have clipped their earnings expectations for Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, and other large banks. Their softening forecasts are a symptom of the wider economic and policy uncertainty playing out on Main Street and Wall Street.

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