JPMorgan Reports 6% Rise In Q1 Profits

JPMorgan Chase reported a modest 6% rise in first-quarter profits as major banks start reporting their quarterly results for the first quarter, according to Ken Sweet for the Associated Press (AP).

JPMorgan is the nation’s largest bank. I Photo: Joe Mabel Wikimedia Commons

Wells Fargo reported a decline in profit compared to a year ago, although the result beat Wall Street’s expectations.

JPMorgan, the nation’s largest bank, earned a profit of $13.42 billion, or $4.44 a share, compared to a profit of $12.62 billion, or $4.10 a share, in the same period a year earlier. JPMorgan’s results were impacted by a $725 million one-time charge to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

While the results did beat analysts’ forecasts, the bank’s stock fell in premarket trading after JPMorgan gave a lower-than-expected forecast for its net interest income for the full year.

That forecast largely reflects the bank’s expectation that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates later this year. Most metrics of JPMorgan’s business were solid for the quarter.

While investment banking revenues were largely flat, the bank reported an uptick in activity. In the consumer bank, profits were up 6% while the bank set aside less money to cover potentially bad loans.