Remind me, what dates are the UK Banks reporting their Q1 results?

UK banks begin reporting Q1 results in the final week of April and conclude on 4 May, as detailed below:

What was the reaction to UK Bank’s FY results?

In February, the four major UK banks reported their full year results for 2016 over the course of four days in concession. HSBC was the first bank to report figures to the market on a day to be forgotten for the company’s executives. Shares closed a whopping 6.4% lower as the bank reported a 62% fall in pretax profit to $7.1bn, less than half the figure that was expected by analysts. Surely it could only get better from here?

Next up was Lloyds, looking to better a disappointing day for its competitor. It managed to succeed in impressing investors as pre-tax profits rose spectacularly to £4.2bn, more than doubling, while also announcing a special dividend of 0.5p/share. The results sufficiently excited investors, leading shares to close 4.3% higher.

Barclays was the penultimate UK institution to report their FY’16 results and received a frosty reception to what appeared to be a positive set of results. Although profits almost tripled to £3.2bn in 2016, the performance was underwhelming according to many city analysts. The was due to headline profits being helped north by reduced costs relating to legal charges, rather than growth, which saw the shares finish 2.9% lower at the close of play.

Finally, the Royal Bank of Scotland reported its results only a few days after a 7% share price jump as the bank reported it will not pursue a sale of its Williams & Glyn franchise. Unfortunately, the excitement didn’t last long as the bank reported it had notched its ninth consecutive yearly loss as a result of legacy issues. Shares eventually closed 4.3% weaker in reaction. Could RBS turn a new leaf and start 2017 on a strong footing?

What did early US banks’ results show?

As is almost always the case in earnings season, major stateside banks provide the opening ceremony, and this quarter is no different. US behemoths Citigroup, JP Morgan and Wells Fargo all released their Q1 results on 13 April, prompting a variety of investor responses.

JP Morgan was the first bank to report results over the wires, reporting a beat on both the top (revenue) and bottom (earnings-per-share) lines. A $6.45bn Q1 profit came as a result of improved trading figures at the US giant. Next to share its figures was Citigroup, who also beat on both lines while seeing a 17% increase in profit. It too said results from the trading desk were the reason behind the sharp increase, as interest rate hikes provided a boon to currency trading. Finally, Wells Fargo produced a mixed bag of results, missing on the top line but beating on the bottom line due to the bank’s ongoing scandal involving false accounts being created.

Over the page, we’ll provide an in depth look at each of the four banks, highlighting key levels, technical analysis and providing City brokers’ consensus price targets. Which bank do they prefer? Read on to find out!