Wells Fargo & Co., the top U.S. home lender, has reported a second-quarter profit that beat most analysts’ estimates as the company’s loan losses eased, Bloomberg reported.

Net income declined 3 percent to $3.06 billion, or 55 cents a share, from $3.17 billion, or 57 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier, the San Francisco-based bank said in a press release today. The average per-share earnings estimate of 25 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was 49 cents, adjusted for one-time items.

“We believe credit quality has indeed turned the corner,” said Howard Atkins, Wells Fargo’s chief financial officer, in a release. “We expect this positive trend will continue over the coming year.”

CEO John Stumpf said the company plans to earn more from fees and reduce expenses to counter sluggish consumer and business lending. Some parts of the financial overhaul passed by Congress may have “unintended negative consequences,” he said in a statement.

One of Greater Des Moines’ largest employers, Wells Fargo earlier this month announced plans to restructure its Wells Fargo Financial division, which will result in the elimination of approximately 3,800 of the division’s 14,000 jobs, including 1,000 locally, during the next year.

The company said earlier this month that it would incur total pre-tax charges of approximately $185 million related to the restructuring, with $137 million recorded in the second quarter for severance costs. Once implemented, ongoing cost savings from Wells Fargo Financial’s restructuring are expected to offset those charges in the first year and a half.

Wells Fargo is the last of the four largest banks to report second-quarter earnings. JPMorgan Chase & Co., the second-biggest U.S. bank by assets, said its profit was buoyed by a $6.3 billion reduction in provisions for soured home and credit-card loans compared with last year’s second quarter. Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. posted lower net income.

Analysts and investors are looking at the largest U.S. banks for confirmation that credit losses are shrinking. Bank of America, the biggest U.S. lender, told investors last week that credit quality is improving, and June credit-card write-offs fell at five of the six largest card issuers.