Wall Street's Big Three Banks: U.S. Consumer Resilience Persists as Credit Card Balances Rise Across the Board
Claire Weston
JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo all reported credit-card balance growth of 4.4%–7.3% in Q2, with executives calling consumer spending "better than expected" — yet rising pressure on lower-income households and CPI still at 3.5% hint at cracks beneath the resilience narrative.
All three banks agree — how is the consumer really doing?
BofA CEO Brian Moynihan said the economy's durability exceeded expectations, with consumer spending expanding "better than expected."
JPMorgan CFO Jeremy Barnum added that spending was solid across all income tiers, with delinquency rates below forecasts.
Wells Fargo CFO Michael Santomassimo put it plainly: delinquency trends ran better than the bank's own models in most months, calling overall performance "very strong."
This means → all three banks read the same signal — American consumers are still spending, and they are paying their bills better than the banks themselves predicted.
Credit-card balances up everywhere — where is the money going?
JPMorgan's credit-card balances rose 7.3% year-on-year to $249.9 billion, leading the pack.
BofA's card balances grew 4.4%; home-equity and residential mortgage balances edged up as well.
Wells Fargo's card balances climbed roughly 5.6%, while auto loans surged 32%.
In plain terms = credit cards are the highest-margin lending product banks have — rising balances mean fatter interest and fee income. But the flip side: some consumers may be leaning on plastic to cope with higher living costs.
Why did non-card consumer lending tell a different story?
JPMorgan's consumer loans excluding credit cards fell 1% year-on-year — a stark contrast with card growth.
Wells Fargo's residential mortgages dipped slightly, though the 32% auto-loan surge more than offset it.
This means → consumers are spending freely on cards and cars but staying cautious on home purchases — in a high-rate environment, short-term spending appetite outpaces willingness to take on long-term debt.
What are the jobs and inflation numbers saying?
June non-farm payrolls added just 57,000 jobs, well below the 110,000 expected; but the Q2 monthly average was 111,000, far above the year-ago 34,000.
The 12-month CPI through June was 3.5%, down from May's 4.2% — which had been the largest annual increase since April 2023.
The U.S.–Iran conflict pushed oil prices higher, adding to inflation pressure and clouding the rate outlook.
In plain terms = the labor market is not collapsing but it is cooling, and inflation has eased yet remains elevated — squeezed from both sides, the durability of consumer resilience is an open question.
Are lower-income households the biggest blind spot?
Bank executives, even while affirming resilience, flagged a clear concern: lower-income households face mounting cost pressure.
Annex Wealth Management chief economist Brian Jacobsen noted: people do not buy homes and take on that kind of debt when their income outlook is uncertain.
The modest growth in housing-related lending is read by some market participants as a sign of consumer confidence.
This reflects a key vulnerability in the "consumer resilience" narrative: credit quality among lower-income borrowers in the second half will determine whether the story holds — or reaches a turning point.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.