New York, Muharram 1, 1437, Oct 14, 2015, SPA -- Wells Fargo & Company, the biggest U.S. residential mortgage lender, reported a rise in quarterly profit for the first time in three quarters Wednesday, helped by an increase in borrowing from consumers and businesses as well as its recent purchase of commercial loans from General Electric (GE). The fourth-largest U.S. bank by assets said profit rose 1 percent to $5.44 billion in the July-September quarter, up from $5.41 billion in the same period a year ago. Revenue rose to $21.9 billion from $21.2 a year earlier. The figures were mostly in line with Wall Street expectations, with the profit number slightly below estimates and the revenue figure slightly higher than estimates. Wells Fargo agreed earlier this year to buy a portion of GE’s commercial real-estate loans worth $9 billion. The acquisition helped to drive a 13 percent increase in commercial loans to $447.34 billion in the third quarter. It its latest deal, the bank said Tuesday it would buy a portfolio of commercial loans and leases worth more than $30 billion from GE. The Wells Fargo results came as Bank of America—the second-biggest U.S. bank by assets—reported a third-quarter profit of $4.1 billion despite weak revenue at three of its four businesses. --SPA 18:57 LOCAL TIME 15:57 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w