The banking sector had a difficult time since the collapse of several banks in early March. Now analysts and investors are turning their attention to first-quarter earnings, which will kick off on Friday with JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM).

While some of these earning reports will provide some additional confidence to the sector, most banks do face a difficult time and that will be reflected. Deposit costs are likely to rise, squeezing bank margins, and banks may need to raise their provision for credit losses, depending on their outlook for the economy and how credit quality is holding up. 

Still, there's one part of bank earnings, primarily for the larger banks, that could come in stronger than expected. Let's take a look.

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Source Fool.com