Commercial banking

There are so many reasons — the credit cycle, the plight of small banks or competition from Amazon and foreign banks — that the head of JPMorgan could live to regret that statement.

The numbers are better but still disappointing for such a healthy economy, lamented executives from large U.S. banks. Some are scratching their heads, some are remaining upbeat about the second half of the year, and others are focusing on Plan B.

The Canadian banks' second-quarter profits were also boosted by double-digit income growth at their U.S. operations.

Banks were helped by better loan spreads thanks to higher net interest margins, but the recently enacted tax cut helped boost profits by 27% from a year earlier.

News that Wells commercial banking employees improperly altered client documents will likely embolden the most vocal critics of CEO Tim Sloan, who they say can't seem to resolve Wells' lingering problems.