Wells Fargo Earnings Leap, but Bank One Has Flat Quarter

Wells Fargo & Co. on Tuesday reported a 30% jump in its third-quarter operating profit, matching estimates, led by growing business from consumers and small businesses.

Bank One Corp., meanwhile, reported nearly flat earnings for the third quarter that were in line with Wall Street analysts’ forecasts but down considerably from expectations in August, when the bank revealed problems in its credit card unit.

Soon after Bank One released results, it said that Richard W. Vague, chief of First USA, the bank’s credit unit, resigned from the company “to pursue other interests.”

At Wells Fargo, the nation’s seventh-largest bank, net income rose to $962 million, or 57 cents a share, from $742 million, or 45 cents, a year earlier.

Wells Fargo said net income from community banking, which includes consumer and small-business banking, insurance and trust services, rose 33% to $747 million, as its merger with Minneapolis-based Norwest Corp. began paying off.

Norwest bought Wells Fargo in November, taking the Wells Fargo name and moving its headquarters to San Francisco.

“The early indications suggest that things are going well with the merger,” said Lisa Welch, an analyst at John Hancock Advisers, which held 8.5 million shares of Wells Fargo at the end of June. “The community banking area was really strong.”

The provision for loan losses fell 22% to $240 million. Net charge-offs fell to 0.85% of average loans, down from 1.18% in the same period last year.

Trust and investment fees rose 19% to $317 million, and mortgage banking revenue gained 16% to $318 million.

Bank One, the fifth-largest U.S. bank, reported operating profit of $1.014 billion, or 86 cents a share, up only slightly from $1.005 billion, or 84 cents, a year ago.

Credit card revenue was up 4.6% from a year ago but down 1.4% from the previous quarter.

The company said named William P. Boardman, 58, to replace Vague as chairman of the First USA credit unit, which was acquired in 1997. Boardman previously was in charge of mergers and acquisitions for the bank.

Wells Fargo shares rose $2.13 to close at $41.63 on the New York Stock Exchange. Bank One fell 38 cents to $32.88, also on the NYSE.