Well Fargo First-Quarter Profit Surges 22 Percent

Wells Fargo, the nation's biggest mortgage lender, said its first-quarter profit surged 23 per cent after it cut expenses.

The lower expenses helped the bank overcome a slight decline in revenue.

Net income rose to $4.93 billion from $4.02 billion a year earlier. On a per-share basis, earnings were 92 cents, beating the 89 cents forecast by Wall Street. Revenue fell 2 percent to $21.3 billion and missed expectations.

The bank's non-interest expenses fell $593 million, or 4.6 percent, to $12.4 billion. Wells says expenses will fall further from first quarter levels in the coming three months.

Wells Fargo was little known outside the Western U.S. before scooping up a teetering Wachovia in the depths of the financial crisis in 2008. The bank has turned a profit every quarter since 2009, the year it wrapped up its acquisition of Wachovia.

The Federal Reserve said last month that Wells Fargo passed its annual checkup, a "stress test" to measure how a bank would fare in a severe recession. The Fed cleared the bank to raise its quarterly dividend by a nickel to 30 cents per share.

The bank's stock fell 61 cents, or 1.6 percent, in trading before the opening bell. Wells Fargo's stock is up 10.5 percent this year and closed Thursday at $37.51.