- The big winners from the JPMorgan and Wells Fargo earnings reports were Goldman Sachs (GS -1.3%) and Morgan Stanley (MS -0.6%), according to UBS' Brennan Hawken. Both closed nicely higher Friday, far outperforming the reporting banks, as well as Citigroup and Bank of America.
- Hawken points to detail buried in JPMorgan's report: Investment banker pay fell 15% Y/Y as investment bank revenue declined just 2%. This brought the compensation to revenue ratio down to 28% - the lowest for any quarter in two years.
- Not nearly as affected by the mortgage and consumer lending slowdown as the money center banks, Goldman and Morgan Stanley (the shareholders, not the employees) should benefit from the leeway to reduce costs.