Wells Fargo boosted by mortgages Wells Fargo reported a 13 per cent rise in profit to a record $4.25bn in the first quarter of 2012 on the back of a strong performance in mortgages. Net income at the US's largest home lender rose to 75 cents a share, up from 67 cents a share, or $3.76bn, in the same period a year ago, beating Wall Street forecasts of 73 cents a share. Revenue grew 6 per cent to $21.64bn, up from $20.33bn, as income from mortgage banking rose 42 per cent to $2.87bn from $2.01bn a year ago. "Quarterly revenue was the highest in nine quarters, and we achieved our ninth consecutive quarter of earnings per share growth," John Stumpf, chief executive, said. Our continued performance for shareholders through a variety of economic environments is a testament to our diversified business model. The lender's strong performance since the financial crisis has been driven by its dominant position in the home loan market and has boosted its stock, making it the most valuable US bank by market capitalisation. Unlike many of its peers, it has less exposure to investment banking and has therefore been less troubled by stock market volatility and trading performance. Wells Fargo shares were down about 1 per cent at $33.65 in pre-market trading in New York.