A Wells Fargo logo is seen in New York City, U.S. January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co expects its net interest income, a key measure of bank profitability, to be up or down 2 percent for the year in 2019, depending on deposit pricing and loan growth.

Chief Financial Officer John Shrewsberry, speaking at an investor conference in Florida, said that loan growth could be driven by retail branches bankers, who are increasingly comfortable referring clients to other businesses at the bank.

Shrewsberry added that its wealth management business receives nearly $1 billion in new assets from referrals each month.