. High provisions for impending loan losses and weak mortgage lending business dragged Wells Fargo’s US profit in the spring. The fourth-largest US bank said Friday that the surplus in the second quarter fell 48 percent to $3.1 billion compared to the same period last year. The financial group earned 74 cents per share after $1.38 the previous year. Bank President Charlie Scharf said loan losses are expected to rise from incredibly low levels but we don’t see any significant deterioration in consumer or retail portfolios yet. Bait Al Mal made $580 million in provisions for impending loan defaults. A year ago, the bank issued $1.26 billion in loan loss provisions due to the economic recovery at that time. Total income fell about 16 percent to 17.03 billion euros. Scharf, who took over at Wells Fargo in 2019, is struggling to get the institute back on a calmer path. Under its predecessors, the financial group spent billions on legal disputes and restructuring costs.
