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First Posted: 4/12/2013 NEW YORK &#8212; JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, bank industry bellwethers, reported record earnings Friday, but those numbers masked troubling declines in revenue.
Revenue fell slightly at both banks, and the earnings gains came largely from slashing expenses and related measures. JPMorgan socked way less to cover potential lawsuits and released some of the money set aside for bad loans. Wells cut back on office space and branches.
The results show that in an era of sluggish loan demand and increased government regulations, banks must stay lean if they want to boost earnings. 
For both banks, analysts homed in on a slowdown in the mortgage business. 
For the past several quarters, the banks have enjoyed a boom in mortgage refinancings as homeowners lined up to take advantage of low interest rates. 
That pace now appears to be stalling, if not slowing.
At JPMorgan, mortgage applications fell about 8 percent over the quarter to $60.5 million. 
They were also down about 8 percent at Wells &#8212; to $140 million. Compared with a year earlier, applications at JPMorgan were up only 1 percent. For Wells, however, applications were down 25 percent.
Standards for getting a mortgage are still tight. Some homeowners might not qualify for a refinancing, because of changes to their personal finances, and others might not be able to afford one.

Earnings up, but revenue not so rosy