Sector overview · Banks
How the big US banks make money
Interest on one side, fees and trading on the other: the 2025 revenue of the six largest US banks, from their own 10-Ks.
The short answer
Banks earn money two ways: the gap between the interest they collect on loans and securities and the interest they pay on deposits and borrowing (net interest income), and everything else, mainly fees and trading (noninterest income). In 2025, net interest income was between 52% and 70% of revenue at the four big lenders, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup. At Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley it was 23% and 14%: most of their revenue comes from fees and trading.
Interest versus everything else
Source: each bank’s 10-K for 2025, linked in the table below. The dollar figure is total net revenue.
| Bank | Net interest income | Noninterest income | Total net revenue | Interest share | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPMorgan ChaseJPM | $95.4B | $87.0B | $182.4B | 52% | $57.0B |
| Bank of AmericaBAC | $60.1B | $53.0B | $113.1B | 53% | $30.5B |
| Wells FargoWFC | $47.5B | $36.2B | $83.7B | 57% | $21.3B |
| CitigroupC | $59.8B | $25.4B | $85.2B | 70% | $14.3B |
| Goldman SachsGS | $13.6B | $44.7B | $58.3B | 23% | $17.2B |
| Morgan StanleyMS | $10.0B | $60.6B | $70.6B | 14% | $16.9B |
From each bank’s 10-K for 2025. Total net revenue is net interest income plus noninterest income, as each bank reports it. Interest share is net interest income divided by total net revenue (our arithmetic).
Net interest income: the lending business
A bank takes in deposits and borrows money, pays interest on both, and lends the money out or buys bonds with it at a higher rate. Net interest income is what is left of the interest it earns after paying the interest it owes.
Bank of America shows both halves on its income statement. In 2025 it earned $138.6B of interest and paid out $78.5B, which leaves $60.1B of net interest income. Small changes in rates move both lines, and the gap between them is what the bank keeps.
Deposits are the cheapest money most banks have, which is why the four lenders hold so much of it. Deposits at the end of 2025:
- JPMorgan Chase: $2.56T
- Bank of America: $2.02T
- Wells Fargo: $1.43T
- Citigroup: $1.40T
- Goldman Sachs: $501.4B
- Morgan Stanley: $415.5B
Noninterest income: fees, trading and advice
Noninterest income covers card and account fees, investment banking (advising on mergers and underwriting stock and bond sales), trading for clients, and managing money for wealthy individuals and institutions. The mix differs a lot from bank to bank.
Investment banking fees in 2025 were $9.6B at JPMorgan Chase, $9.3B at Goldman Sachs and $8.2B at Morgan Stanley. JPMorgan Chase also reported $27.2B of principal transactions revenue, the line where trading gains and losses are booked; Citigroup reported $10.2B. For Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, which hold far fewer deposits, these fee and trading lines are most of the business.
What it costs to run a bank
Besides the interest it pays, a bank’s costs are its noninterest expenses: pay, technology, offices and legal costs. Dividing them by revenue gives what banks call the efficiency ratio. Lower means more of each dollar of revenue is left after running costs.
| Bank | Noninterest expense | As a share of revenue |
|---|---|---|
| JPMorgan Chase | $95.6B | 52% |
| Bank of America | $69.7B | 62% |
| Wells Fargo | $54.8B | 66% |
| Citigroup | $55.1B | 65% |
| Goldman Sachs | $37.5B | 64% |
| Morgan Stanley | $48.3B | 68% |
Share of revenue is noninterest expense divided by total net revenue (our arithmetic). Banks calculate their own efficiency ratios and some adjust them, so a bank’s published figure can differ.
What this page leaves out
- Provisions for credit losses, the money set aside for loans that may not be repaid. The banks tag them differently in their filings, so they are left out here instead of being compared on uneven terms.
- Segments. Each bank splits its results into businesses (consumer banking, wealth management, markets and so on) on its own definitions; each company page shows them.
- Capital and liquidity ratios, which regulators set and banks report in separate filings.
Sources
JPMorgan Chase 10-K for 2025, filed Feb 13, 2026 · Bank of America 10-K for 2025, filed Feb 25, 2026 · Wells Fargo 10-K for 2025, filed Feb 24, 2026 · Citigroup 10-K for 2025, filed Feb 20, 2026 · Goldman Sachs 10-K for 2025, filed Feb 25, 2026 · Morgan Stanley 10-K for 2025, filed Feb 19, 2026
How bank revenue works · All company files · Methodology & Disclosures
Disclosures
- Editor holdings
- The editor holds no position in any company named on this page. As of Nov 11, 2026.
- Compensation
- Nobody paid for this page. No affiliate links on this page.
- Sources
- Each bank’s 10-K, linked next to every figure.
- Last updated
- Nov 11, 2026
General education, the same for every reader. Not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security, and it doesn’t consider your situation.