Bank CEOs Leave Outlooks Unchanged Despite Market Gloom

Wall Street CEOs are sounding cautious to downbeat about the economy, even though their companies have left their outlooks largely unchanged.

JPMorgan raised its provision for credit losses to $3.3 billion in the first quarter, up from $2.6 billion in the fourth quarter. I Photo: Steve Jurvetson Flickr

This could signal that revisions are in store later in 2025, especially once the Trump administration lifts its 90-day delay on tariffs for imports from most countries, Rebecca Ungarino and Andrew Welsch reported for Barron’s Daily.

The economic backdrop is shifting so rapidly that JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said he called the bank’s chief economist, Michael Feroli, just before its recent earnings conference call.

Dimon relayed the message to analysts: “They think it’s about 50-50 for a recession.”

JPMorgan raised its provision for credit losses to $3.3 billion in the first quarter, up from $2.6 billion in the fourth quarter—what analysts interpreted as a prudent move amid rising uncertainty.

Morgan Stanley’s total provision for credit losses also increased to $135 million in the first quarter from $115 million in the previous quarter.

Still, the finance executives’ comments on earnings calls made it clear that tariff-related uncertainty is weighing heavily on them and their clients. Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf said he expects “continued volatility and uncertainty.”

Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick acknowledged that some clients are delaying deal-making amid the current climate. Economists have revised forecasts in anticipation of slower economic growth and rising inflation, with some now predicting a potential recession.