U.S. banks reporting their first earnings under Donald Trump’s presidency showed a stark split: Wall Street businesses are faring better than many of those serving Main Street.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc., the two largest U.S. trading firms, posted first-quarter results that beat analysts’ estimates as revenue from buying and selling stocks, bonds and other instruments outpaced expectations. Wells Fargo & Co., which focuses more on more traditional forms of banking to consumers and businesses, reported sluggish results and said total loans fell from the fourth quarter.

The figures show how Wall Street businesses criticized during the presidential campaign are thriving as Trump sets out to reshape policy and the Federal Reserve embarks on interest-rate hikes. Political turmoil and changing central bank policies spurred interest-rate trading in the quarter while the threat of higher borrowing costs drove corporations to issue debt, which gave a boost to credit trading. Rising U.S. equities also fueled trading desks.

Financial stocks surged after the November election as investors speculated that Trump would sideline Wall Street’s sharpest critics, dismantle regulation and pursue policies that spur inflation and lift long-term interest rates. He reversed course this week on some other key parts of his campaign rhetoric -- backing off protectionist policies and praising the Federal Reserve’s Janet Yellen -- in a sign he’s listening more to moderate advisers from finance, including former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. President Gary Cohn.

‘Healthy’ Trading

After a relatively slow start to the year, markets improved in March, JPMorgan Chief Financial Officer Marianne Lake said Thursday on a call with analysts. That helped her bank post a fourth straight quarter of increased trading revenue, the longest streak in at least a decade.

“The competition is back and healthy,” she said.

JPMorgan’s fixed-income trading revenue rose 17 percent to $4.22 billion, driven by rates trading linked to central bank actions, improved credit trading and upcoming elections in Europe. The firm also showed a surprise increase in equity trading, which rose 2 percent to $1.61 billion.

At Citigroup, fixed-income traders posted their best quarter in three years, with revenue jumping 19 percent from a year earlier to $3.62 billion. Equities desks boosted revenue 10 percent to $769 million, within a percentage point of what analysts predicted.

PNC’s Outlook

Wells Fargo, on the other hand, reported first-quarter revenue that missed analysts’ estimates as the lender’s embattled community bank weighed on results. The firm has had trouble attracting new retail-bank customers while grappling with a bogus account scandal and as fewer customers take out loans.

Wells Fargo was the worst performer in the S&P 500 Financials Index of 65 companies, declining 2.6 percent at 12:44 p.m. in New York. Citigroup and JPMorgan both slipped less than 1 percent.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc., the nation’s second-largest regional bank, climbed 0.3 percent after posting results that beat analysts’ estimates and raising a forecast for revenue growth in 2017. Interest income, its main source of revenue, climbed about 3 percent from the fourth quarter -- but most of the improvement came from investment securities, rather than loans. The Pittsburgh-based bank projected loans will grow this year by mid-single digits, with total revenue climbing faster.

Commercial lending has also slowed this quarter in much of the industry, with analysts blaming the softness on uncertainty about corporate tax rates and Trump’s ability to push through his legislative agenda, as well as less demand from companies that have access to capital markets. Regulations also may be discouraging banks from making riskier loans.

This article was provided by Bloomberg News.