By Ben Glickman
Americans say they are getting worried about the economy and inflation, but banks say they aren't acting like it yet.
Bank of America and Citigroup said Tuesday consumer spending ticked higher in the first quarter, when concerns about tariffs and the economy began to bubble up. JPMorgan Chase said last week that credit- and debit-card spending rose.
Executives also said spending has largely held up in the weeks after the quarter ended, even after President Trump sharply escalated his tariff threats on "Liberation Day." JPMorgan noted some of that may have been people making purchases in advance of price increases from tariffs.
"This is consumers continuing to spend, and that is ultimately the basis of the U.S. economy," said Alastair Borthwick, Bank of America's chief financial officer, on a call with reporters Tuesday. "The signals at this point from the consumer are that the U.S. economy still remains in good shape."
Worries about a recession and higher prices have climbed in recent weeks since Trump's sweeping tariffs set off massive swings in markets. A closely watched gauge last week showed consumer sentiment took a nosedive in April.
Wall Street executives have been warning that Trump's actions could push the economy into a downturn. The S&P 500 had already slid by the end of the first quarter with uncertainty over Trump's next moves hanging over markets.
But for now, bank results haven't signaled any serious signs of distress among consumers or moved to rapidly build up defenses for potential loan losses.
For the first quarter, Bank of America said its profit rose 11% to $7.4 billion, or 90 cents a share. Revenue rose 6% to $27.37 billion, powered by big increases from the markets segment and its wealth-management arm.
The bank also said that the portion of loan holders late on their payments fell slightly from the previous quarter.
Write to Ben Glickman at ben.glickman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 15, 2025 09:24 ET (13:24 GMT)
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