07 04 2016

Do weak trading revenues mean a weak economy?

Credit Suisse reported Thursday that it expects bank trading revenues for the first quarter to plunge 26 percent on average, and while market watchers worry over what this implies for the U.S. economy, one expert considers bank woes are limited to the sector.

Chris Thornberg of Beacon Economics told CNBC's "Closing Bell" that "what's happening with these banks is more about the markets than the real economy." The firm's founding partner added that "the real economy is doing fine."

Meanwhile, the Financials sector is down 6 percent quarter to date, it's the sector's worse quarter since the financial crisis when it lost 29.49 percent the first quarter of 2009.

However, director of bank and equity strategies at Vining Sparks, Marty Mosby, agrees that the U.S. economy will not see ramifications from trading revenue declines.

"While you have the big year-over-year declines, you really have double-digit increase from the fourth quarter," he said. "We are not seeing any sequential pressure and there really isn't any spillover from what you're looking at on the trading side of these revenue streams."

Thornberg added that weak trading revenues could have repercussions in the credit market, but as of today he considers the credit market is doing "fine."

"I think this is going to be more of a short-term situation and in the next couple of months you're going to see it blow over," he said. "I think these earnings are going to come back for these banks.