Now, additional cuts are on the horizon: State Street Corp., which added employees last year, announced in January it will dismiss 1,500 people while automating operations. And Citigroup has indicated it may cut thousands of its technology and operations staff in the years ahead.

Tax cuts or not, the financial industry is shifting customers to mobile platforms and embracing new technologies to handle tasks. While lower taxes can ease the pressure to pare personnel costs, a number of firms have noted they’re spending more on automation.

For people who remain, lower taxes may help pad paychecks. Personnel expenses at the 23 banks climbed an average of 3.6 percent last year, a sign that employees got raises. And Bank of America expanded its bonus program this year. Still, the ratio of personnel costs to revenue declined as banks gave workers a smaller slice of the money they brought in.

Customers
At best, corporate tax cuts had a muted impact on lending, the banks’ primary contribution to the economy. While the group of banks increased their total loan books 2.3 percent last year, that was slower than 3.6 percent a year earlier.

To be sure, lending is driven by demand from qualifying customers. Rising interest rates discouraged home sales and potentially other activities. Corporate clients also got a tax break, leaving them more money to fund expansion without borrowing.

Commercial and industrial lending -- which helps fuel job creation -- was stagnant heading into the year before picking up in the final months. That’s a sign that tax reform helped sustain economic growth, said Peter Winter, who covers regional banks for Wedbush Securities Inc. “The credit quality is still very strong for the banks,” he said.

Banks have said the tax law will help them finance worthy causes. For example, as part of a $20 billion package of initiatives, JPMorgan Chase & Co. vowed to boost small-business lending and philanthropic investments. Wells Fargo promised to give $400 million to community groups and nonprofits last year and said it will divert some future profits to philanthropy, such as support for small businesses that can’t get traditional loans.

The American Bankers Association stressed that the implications of tax reform are manifold and that it’s too early to evaluate the full stimulative effect.

“One year is simply not enough time to assess the full economic impact of major business tax reform on the banking sector, much less the entire U.S. economy,” Jeff Sigmund, a spokesman for the industry group, said in a statement. “The tax bill created positive incentives for businesses across the country to expand, but the timing and full economic impact will take many years to observe.”

Shareholders
The biggest winners were shareholders. Tax savings contributed to a banner year for banks, with the six largest surpassing $120 billion in combined profits for the first time. Dividends and stock buybacks at the 23 lenders surged by an additional $28 billion from 2017 -- even more than their tax savings.