JPMorgan Chase reported higher first-quarter profits Thursday, driven by a strong performance in its corporate and investment bank division, including in trading.
Net income for the quarter ending March 31 was $6.5 billion, up 16.8 percent from the year-ago period.
Earnings growth was driven in large part by JPMorgan’s corporate and investment banking business due to higher debt and equity underwriting fees and gains in trading revenues tied to fixed income and the trading of other products.
This division also benefited from a favorable comparison to the year-ago period, when JPMorgan set aside large reserves in case of defaults in the oil and gas business following a slump in oil prices at the time.
But net income in consumer and community banking fell, due in part to a write-down of the student loan portfolio. That resulted in provisions in case of loan losses of $1.4 billion, which was less than in the year-ago period, but above the level in the prior quarter.
JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon gave a generally positive outlook, saying, “US consumers and businesses are healthy overall and with pro-growth initiatives and improving collaboration between government and business, the US economy can continue to improve.”
Net income translated into $1.65 per share, compared with the $1.52 expected by analysts.
Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.