American banks made a killing in 2016

American banks made huge profits last year.

(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

published 15 March 2017

American banks made a record $171 billion in profit last year, up nearly 5 percent from 2015, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. That's even more than the banking industry was making before the financial crisis, when Wall Street was making big money off the housing bubble, The Wall Street Journal notes. There were only five bank failures in 2016, the lowest number since 2007.

The impressive profits, together with President Donald Trump's heavy deregulation agenda, have sent bank stocks soaring since the election.