Some of the biggest banks have also seen their profits boosted during the war in Iran.
JP Morgan’s trading arm made a record $11.6bn of revenue in the first three months of 2026, helping the bank overall to its second biggest ever quarterly profit.
Across the rest of the “Big Six” banks – which includes Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo, as well as JP Morgan – profits all rose substantially in the first quarter of the year.
Overall, the banks reported $47.7bn in profits for the first three months of 2026.
“Heavy trading volumes have benefited investment banks, in particular Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs,” Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said.
The major Wall Street lenders have been boosted by a surge in demand for trading, with investors rushing to drop riskier stocks and bonds and pile their cash into assets that are seen as safer. Trading volumes have also been lifted by investors seeking to capitalise on the volatility in financial markets.
Streeter added: “The volatility unleashed by the war has led to a surge in trading, as some investors sold stocks on fears of escalation, while others bought the dip, helping to fuel a recovery rally.”
