Two Largest U.S. Banks to Boost Savings Yields

(Bloomberg) — The country’s two largest banks just put rivals on notice: they’re finally prepared to pay out more to savers demanding higher yields on their deposits.

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After a year of relentless rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. took turns on Friday warning that they’re considering boosting the amount they pay out on the trillions of deposits they have sitting on their balance sheets. These moves will impact net interest income, which is the difference between what banks receive from loan payments and what they pay depositors.

“We’ve never had rates go up this fast,” Jamie Dimon, Chief Executive Officer at JPMorgan, spoke on a conference phone call with analysts about fourth-quarter earnings. “I expect there will be more migration to CD, more migration to money-market funds,” He spoke of products with higher yields and certificates of deposit.

Dimon stated that JPMorgan will also have to adjust the interest it pays on savings account accounts. Analysts had predicted a net interest income of $73 Billion for JPMorgan, based in New York, in 2023. This was partly due to the low interest rate and minimal deposit attrition.

The big banks are late to this party, promising higher yield options than those available elsewhere. According to Bankrate LLC, First Internet Bank of Indiana offers a 6-month annual percentage yield of 4.39%, while Synchrony Financial charges 3.9% for the exact same term. Even US savings bonds pay more, with Series I offerings earning a composite rate of almost 6.9% — and they’re at least partially indexed to inflation and come with a tax advantage.

BofA expects to pay higher rates as well, according to Alastair Bothwick, Chief Financial Officer. Borthwick pointed out that customers are moving their deposits into areas such as global banking and wealth management, the second-largest US bank. “high-yield alternatives.”

Both banks have so far been able keep deposit costs under control. Their websites reveal that both banks pay depositors 0.01% for savings on standard accounts.

Average deposits declined by 4% from the year before at JPMorgan while they fell by 5% at BofA.

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