Banks upbeat on US consumer despite bank profit declines, inflation and rising debt levels

Three of the nation’s biggest banks say their profits fell last quarter. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup have been dealing with the lingering effects of higher interest rates and the industry costs of last year’s banking crisis that caused the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. But setting aside the turbulence of the banking panic, the banks had a mostly strong 2023 driven by a resilient job market, a U.S. consumer who continues to spend and not fall behind on their debts despite the impact of inflation, and higher interest rates that have boosted revenue across the industry.