Wells Fargo Bank branch is seen in New York City, U.S., March 17, 2020. Profits at big banks got a boost last year as they released funds reserved for potential COVID losses. In the third quarter of last year, they released about $4 billion of loan provisions, according to data from Refinitiv. read moreThe biggest U.S. bank by assets kicks off third-quarter results on Friday, followed by Wells Fargo (WFC.N), Citigroup (C.N) and Morgan Stanley. Shares of the big six U.S. banks have plunged between 14% and 34% so far this year.

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