Wells Fargo, the nation’s largest consumer lender, said on Tuesday that its fourth-quarter earnings rose 20 percent, an indication the bank was coping with a lackluster economy and an anemic banking industry.

The bank, based in San Francisco, turned a $4.1 billion profit in the fourth quarter, or 73 cents a share, as its loan portfolio showed signs of improving and its deposit division continued to grow. That compared with a profit of $3.4 billion, or 61 cents a share, in the period a year earlier. The figures, which were aided by Wells Fargo’s lack of exposure to the volatile investment banking business, exceeded analysts’ consensus estimate of 72 cents a share.

The strong fourth-quarter results helped the bank to a $15.9 billion profit in 2011, up 28 percent from 2010, when the bank earned $12.36 billion.

“I’m extremely pleased with Wells Fargo’s performance in 2011 – including strong deposit and loan growth, record cross-sell and record earnings,” John G. Stumpf, the bank’s chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.

Investors responded well to the report, sending the bank’s shares up slightly in premarket trading.

But the profit gains at Wells Fargo were limited by declining revenue, reflecting a setback felt across the banking industry as a result of the sluggish economic recovery. A new round of federal regulations also continued to weigh on revenue at banks.

Wells Fargo’s fourth-quarter revenue fell to $20.6 billion from $21.5 billion in the period a year earlier. For the year, the bank posted $80.9 billion in revenue, dropping from $85.2 in 2010.

Wells Fargo and its fellow big banks are struggling to recoup precious revenue lost to a new rule that limits fees they can charge merchants when a consumer uses a debit card. The rule, known as the Durbin amendment, after its sponsor Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, is expected to cost banks hundreds of millions of dollars every quarter.

“The Durbin hit is real money,” said Brian Foran, a senior analyst with Nomura, who cautioned that banks were unlikely to reverse their revenue woes anytime soon. “We’re not going to get that inflection point in 2012.”

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