WELLS FARGO LOSES $2.4-B IN LAST QUARTER

Wells Fargo swung to its first quarterly loss since the Great Recession, forcing the struggling bank to warn it will likely slash its coveted dividend by 80%.

The poor results were driven by soaring expenses linked to Wells Fargo's scandals and surging credit costs caused by the bank's darkening economic view. Wells Fargo also doesn't have as much exposure to booming markets that have padded the bottom lines of some of its rivals, Matt Egan reported for CNN Business late on July 14, 2020.

Wells Fargo suffered a loss of $2.4 billion during the second quarter, a sharp reversal from the $6.2 billion the lender earned a year ago. The bank lost 66 cents per share, more than three times as much as feared. It's Wells Fargo's first loss since late 2008 during the height of the financial crisis. Revenue dropped by a steeper-than-expected 18% to $17.8 billion.

Wells Fargo said it expects to cut its dividend to just 10 cents a share, subject to board approval. That would make Wells Fargo the first major bank to do so, underscoring the fragile state the company entered the crisis. This marks a reversal from the Great Recession, when Wells Fargo, in 2009, was among the last of the big banks to cut its dividend because of its relative strength.