Big Banks Post Big Revenues But Bottom-Line Profits Come in Mixed

Two unidentified women walk past a video $100 bill during a tour of the "Money in Motion" exhibit at the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank in Philadelphia, Penn., on July 2, 2003. William Thomas Cain/Getty Images

On the whole, the United States’ biggest banks posted solid top-line numbers in the January reporting season but bottom-line results were mixed as some institutions suffered painful one-off hits to earnings such as litigation-related costs.

Leading the charge with fourth-quarter profit growth of 47 percent from a year ago was Morgan Stanley, boasting its best year on record. Goldman Sachs, by contrast, was weighed down by litigation costs and posted a 24 percent drop in net income compared to the year-earlier quarter.