The results - partially helped by the bank's decision to set aside less in reserves to cover troubled loans - narrowly beat the 73 cents a share that analysts were forecasting. The strong results spread across the bank. Mortgage originations were up. The unit that caters to corporations showed improved earnings. Even revenue, which has suffered across the financial industry in the years since Wall Street's near collapse, increased to $21.64 billion, from $20.33 billion. It was the bank's highest quarterly revenue in more than two years. Wells Fargo has proved resilient in the aftermath of the financial crisis. It recovered from the mortgage mess - and is coping with the lackluster economy - better than most other big banks. The bank also received high marks from the Federal Reserve's latest round of stress tests, and used the rosy report to raise its dividend from 12 cents to 22 cents per share. The bank's strength was reflected in the latest earnings report, which was driven by improvements in the lending business. Allowance for credit losses amounted to $19.1 billion, down from $22.4 billion in the period a year earlier. The bank's reserve for bad loans fell to $18.9 billion in this year's first quarter, a $3.1 billion drop from $22 billion in the first quarter of 2011, reflecting how the flood of losses has slowed. Profit in the community banking division, which includes Wells Fargo's retail branches and mortgage business, climbed 8 percent, to $2.3 billion, from first quarter 2011. The unit's revenue jumped $764 million, or 6 percent, on the back of greater mortgage banking income and deposit growth. The bank's home mortgage originations amounted to $129 billion, up from $84 billion in the period a year earlier. The gains extended to the wholesale banking unit, which includes the sales and trading business along with the corporate lending division. In the unit, Wells Fargo turned a $1.9 billion profit, up 14 percent, from first quarter 2011. Some other banks, meanwhile, are still struggling under the weight of their soured loans. Big financial firms like Bank of America and Citigroup will report earnings next week. "Wells Fargo stands out from its peers not only due to its long history of superb management, but also because of its relatively simple business model, making it our favorite of the big four American banks," Jim Sinegal, a Morningstar analyst, said in a recent report.