US banks are starting to see some long-awaited benefits of higher interest rates, with four of the largest lenders beating analysts' quarterly profit expectations on Friday by raising loan prices without paying much more for deposits.

But shares of JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and PNC Financial Services all fell on the day. Investors had wanted to see even better results and hear a sunnier outlook from executives, analysts said.

"Bank stocks were due for a breather," Edward Jones analyst Shannon Stemm said. "They had a lot of optimism priced into the shares as investors got excited about rising interest rates and the prospect for regulatory reform. However, the fundamental picture is more mixed."

JPMorgan, for instance, reported loan growth, deposit growth and higher net interest income, which measures the difference between its cost of funding and the revenue it generates from those funds. Overall, its earnings rose 13 per cent.

However, management now expects net interest income to rise by $US4 billion this year, down from a previous outlook of $US4.5 billion, due to a combination of mortgage adjustments, weakness in markets-related income, and unexpected "downward pressure" on 10-year bonds.

As JPMorgan's stock dropped 1.1 per cent to $US92.05, Citigroup bank stock analyst Keith Horowitz said investors were disappointed by the gloomier outlook, and had "a high bar priced into the stock."

The Federal Reserve has raised rates three times since the second quarter of last year, with the latest increase coming in June. Rising rates are generally good for banks, but because there have been uneven movements in short- and long-term rates, lenders have not seen income grow as quickly as investors expected.

Other reasons put forward for the drop in bank stocks on Friday is the outperformance of the sector since the US election, the lack of real policy reform to date, soft trading profits, and weak macroeconomic data on Friday that may make the Federal Reserve more reluctant to raise interest rates again this year. 

Wells Fargo, Citigroup and PNC each reported year-over-year increases in their loan books. Wells and PNC said the spread between what they pay for deposits and charge for loans had grown, thanks to higher rates. They all beat analysts' average estimates for earnings per share.