![Percentage breakdown of US operating income Percentage breakdown of US operating income](https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https://www.thebanker.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/images/us-operating-income3/1229759-1-eng-GB/US-operating-income_large.jpg?source=specialist-tb-article&width=360&height=383)
When looking at the distribution of revenues, unsurprisingly, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have the highest proportion of trading income as a percentage of total operating income. But the benefits of Morgan Stanley’s purchase of a majority stake (soon to be a full buyout) of Citi’s retail brokerage Smith Barney are immediately clear. Fee and commission income for the bank topped 55%, whereas trading retains its lead in the Goldman revenue breakdown. While Goldman’s net profit was down 35%, Morgan Stanley’s rose fivefold, although one-off items such as the sale of its stake in China International Capital Corporation also played a part.
Citigroup is the only bank with more than 50% of its revenue deriving from interest income, and had to allocate close to 30% of its operating income as impairment and provisions, most probably deriving from growing non-performing loans on its $680bn loan book. BAML also suffered high impairment costs and their ‘on-balance-sheet’ loan book now amounts to close to $1,000bn.
![2010 vs 2009 US bank profits 2010 vs 2009 US bank profits](https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https://www.thebanker.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/images/2010-vs-2009-us-bank-profits4/1267299-1-eng-GB/2010-vs-2009-US-bank-profits.jpg?source=specialist-tb-article&width=400&height=705)
JP Morgan increased its profits 53% and made the largest pre-tax profit in its history according to theBankerDatabase.com, at $24.8bn. It remains a balance sheet machine, with 50% of its revenues generated by interest income – exceeded only by Citigroup.