Overage in the quarter (was) mostly due to very strong investment banking results, particularly trading, and good expense control,
Investment bank was pretty good all in. Transaction services had strong revenue, but earnings fell on higher expenses and credit costs. Smith Barney and private banking were okay, but not as good as Merrill.
It's tough to put in words how good a quarter it was -- but we'll try. Not only was the absolute number huge, beating estimates by $2, but diversity was great, with just about every business line putting up a record.
No sugar-coating -- the loss of Marge is disappointing.
Clearly they delivered some of the broad-based growth investors have been waiting for the past couple of years and progress has improved, ... But there's still a reasonable gap versus its peer group, so there is still work to be done.
The big standout was US cards -- weak even excluding the charge, due to margin compression and a big drop in receivables.
Because of their focused and deep business strategy, concentrating only on transactions, Ameritrade would make an easier transition into a more diversified financial company,
There appears to be some low-hanging fruit across the organization on the cost side. It will be taking a smart look at wasteful costs that have built up over the years.
