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Wells Fargo 4Q profit slides, hurt by lower interest rates

Wells Fargo’s net income tumbled in the fourth quarter, weighed down by hefty costs and a lower interest rate environment.

The San Francisco-based bank earned $2.87 billion, or 60 cents per share, for the period ended Dec. 31. A year earlier it earned $6.06 billion, or $1.21 per share.

The current quarter’s results included 33 cents per share of litigation accruals.

Analysts polled by FactSet predicted a profit of $1.12 per share.

Net interest income declined from the third quarter to $11.2 billion, mostly hurt by lower interest rates.

The biggest U.S. mortgage lender’s revenue dropped 8% to $19.9 billion. Wall Street expected $20.12 billion.

Wells is still under growth restrictions by regulators after years of missteps, beginning in 2016 with the uncovering of millions of fake checking accounts its employees opened to meet sales quotas.

Michelle Chapman, The Associated Press