The American banking industry enjoyed profits of $35.3 billion in the first quarter of 2012, the industry’s best performance since 2007, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. But it did so largely because banks put aside less money to cover bad loans, while keeping a lid on new lending.
Major health insurance providers Aetna, WellPoint and UnitedHealth reported huge earnings this quarter, up significantly from the same quarter last year, all while the number of people actually receiving coverage for care is steadily decreasing.
Goldman Sachs has had a record year in terms of employee earnings—The Wall Street Journal says Goldman’s 31,000 worker bees brought in an average of more than $700,000 each in 2009—and that would be better news for the firm if it hadn’t been on the receiving end of major federal funding from last year’s bailout.