Investment banks are expected to hit their cost-cutting targets this year but are likely to miss their cost targets in the long term, according to new research ahead of the start of the first-quarter earnings season for banks.

Analysts at Berenberg Bank, in a research note published yesterday, do not expect major positive surprises in the first quarter on the revenue front and are instead focusing on banks' levels of costs and capital as institutions strive to strengthen their balance sheets and profitability.