In the first of a serious of earnings presentations due out from major US banks, Wells Fargo has reported fourth-quarter net earnings and revenue that topped analyst estimates.

The US bank posted a 24% jump in fourth quarter profits to $5.1bn. Earnings per share came in at 91 cents per share, compared to 73 cents a year earlier, to top the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of 89 cents.

Revenue rose by 7% to $21.9bn compared to the $21.3bn expected.

The net interest margin was 3.56% in the fourth quarter compared to 3.89% a year ago and 3.66% in the third quarter. The bank saw its results boosted by an increase in loan demand.

"2012 was an outstanding year for Wells Fargo," said Chairman John Stumpf in a statement.

"We saw [...] solid loan growth, and strong performance across our business units. We are very well positioned for and look forward to 2013, as Wells Fargo continues to work hard to contribute to a growing US economy by doing what we do best: helping customers succeed financially."

Shares of Wells Fargo were trading 1% lower to $35.05 at the US open as the US markets gave back a small part of the week's strong gains going into the weekend.

Wells Fargo has climbed 20% over the last 12 months.

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