JPMorgan profit beats, helped by reserve release
JPMorgan Chase & Co reported fourth-quarter earnings jumped, helped by narrowing losses on bad loans.
January 14, 2011 / 19:55 IST
JPMorgan Chase & Co reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings, helped by narrowing losses on bad loans that allowed it to release USD 2 billion of reserves.
The results show that JPMorgan, the first of the major US banks to report, is benefiting from economic recovery but has not yet shaken off the residual costs of the financial crisis.JPMorgan's mortgage business in particular is still struggling amid rising litigation and still sluggish home buying interest. The bank, the second-largest US financial institution, set aside another USD 1.5 billion to cover legal settlements linked to US mortgages.JPMorgan shares fell 7 cents to USD 44.38 in pre-market trading and analysts said the results could indicate headwinds for the other banks reporting next week.The largest US bank, Bank of America Corp, reports on Friday, while Citigroup, the third largest, reports on Tuesday. Goldman Sachs Group reports on Wednesday."JPMorgan and Goldman stand on their own," said David Morrison, market strategist at GFT Global Markets in London. "It doesn't necessarily mean that we are going to see good results from the others, even the top six U.S. banks," he added.JPMorgan said profit increased to USD 4.8 billion, or USD 1.12 a share, from USD 3.3 billion, or 74 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts on average expected USD 1 a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S."Although we continue to face challenges, there are signs of stability and growth returning to both the global capital markets and the US economy," said Chief Executive Jamie Dimon.Reserve releaseFewer bad loans meant the bank could reduce loan-loss reserves for its credit card unit by USD 2 billion, or 30 cents a share after tax."The loan-loss reserves are something that bugs me," said Matt McCormick, portfolio manager and banking analyst at Bahl & Gaynor. "I would love to see a bank hit their numbers without taking from loan-loss reserves for once," he added.The bank benefited from a turnaround in its retail banking unit, which reported a profit of USD 708 million compared with a loss of $399 million in the year-earlier quarter.Still, JPMorgan had to put aside USD 1.5 billion of additional litigation reserves related to soured mortgages it sold to investors. Its compensation expense for the full year increased about 4% from 2009, but the payout per investment bank employee dropped 2.7% to USD 369,651.In the investment bank, revenue increased from the year earlier, but profit fell to 21% to USD 1.5 billion as the bank added to litigation reserves.Revenue increased 6% to USD 26.7 billion. Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
