The (Fort Wayne, Ind.) Journal Gazette: If there ever was a good time to be a banker, this would be it.
Most of the big banks released their first-quarter profits last week, and again they are at record levels, as they were for much of last year. Wachovia's net is up 30 percent, SunTrust's 36 percent and Bank of America's 75 percent from the comparable period last year.
Much of the credit for this improvement in bank economics goes to consolidation and new technology, which have allowed banks to cut a huge chunk of their operating costs. It turns out there were significant scale efficiencies to be gained by combining back offices and branch networks. In addition, ATMs, automatic deposits, online bill paying and computerized loan approvals have allowed banks to shrink payrolls even as they grow their businesses.
