The second quarter of 2021 was only a mixed quarter for the US banks, which are used to success. And yet JP Morgan with around 12 billion dollars, Bank of America with 9, Citi with 6 and Goldman Sachs with a good 5 billion dollars each made as much in this quarter as Deutsche Bank would like to make again in a full fiscal year. If things are no longer going so smoothly at the US banks at one point, such as in bond trading, it helps to release loan loss provisions elsewhere. The loan defaults caused by the pandemic have now been dealt with. A new challenge may now be waiting: In view of a good 5 percent inflation, the Federal Reserve could end its bond purchases this year and thus give the signal for a turnaround in interest rates.
Rising interest rates would lead to losses in value in the bank's balance sheets for bonds in the portfolio. But higher interest rates would also help banks generate higher lending income. In short: the US banks will not throw anything off their successful track anytime soon. There is always going to be progress at at least one branch.