Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup on Friday logged rising profits due to higher interest rates in better-than-expected earnings reports for the third quarter, according to Reuters and the New York Times.

But the major U.S. banks are also stressing a cautious outlook as the economy slows and customers depleted savings, Reuters reports.

Wells Fargo, which is the top employer in the local Des Moines metro area with about 13,500 workers, reported a $5.8 billion third-quarter profit, up 61% from last year, beating analysts expectations, the New York Times reported Friday.

JPMorgan saw profits rise $13.2 billion in its quarterly report, up 35% from a year ago. The bank also reported that the impact of the regional banking crisis, which caused JPMorgan to take over First Republic, was easing, according to the New York Times.

Reuters reported that Citigroup tallied a “more modest” year-over-year 2% gain.

Shares of JPMorgan rose 2.3% at the open Friday while Wells Fargo was up 2.8% and Citi was 3% higher. PNC, however, fell 1.8%, according to Reuters.

Other major national banks that serve the Des Moines metro, including Bank of America and U.S. Bank, are expected to deliver their third-quarter earnings report in the near future.

In a news release Tuesday, Bank of America said it will release its earnings report around 6:45 a.m. on Oct. 17.

Future economic caution comes as the big banks report that consumers are spending down their savings.

Wells Fargo said it was seeing charge-offs, or loans written off, increasing in its credit card portfolio, according to Reuters.

“While the economy has continued to be resilient, we are seeing the impact of the slowing economy with loan balances declining and charge-offs continuing to deteriorate modestly,” Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf said, according to Reuters.

Global politics could also impact the future financial outlook. JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon said he’s preparing the nation’s largest bank for risks including high inflation and rising inflation rates, according to the New York Times, but he called the conflict in Israel and Gaza the “highest and most important thing for the Western world.”

For further reading:

(New York Times): Dimon warns of ‘Most dangerous time’ as banks report big profits
JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup said consumers continued to borrow and spend but their chiefs warned that geopolitical risks were intensifying.

JP Morgan Chase’s CEO Jamie Dimon is as close as Wall Street has to a statesman, and on Friday, he sounded a major alarm about the global effects of the conflict in Israel and Gaza.
“This may be the most dangerous time the world has seen in decades,” he said in a statement accompanying the bank’s quarterly earnings. He warned of “far-reaching impacts on energy and food markets, global trade and geopolitical relationships.”