US bank JPMorgan Chase has said its third quarter profit jumped to $3.6 billion, with investment banking results offsetting weakness in the consumer sector.
The group, among the healthiest of the major US banks, said earnings rose almost sevenfold from $527m in the same period a year ago. The results translated to 82 cents per share, much better than expected by analysts.
Revenues surged 79% from a year ago to $28.8 billion, due in part of the acquisition of failed lending giant Washington Mutual.
Jamie Dimon, chairman and chief executive, said the results were positive, but he offered a cautious outlook. 'While we are seeing some initial signs of consumer credit stability, we are not yet certain that this trend will continue,' he said.
More than half the quarterly profit, $1.9 billion, came from investment banking. The company lost $700m on credit card operations and $1 billion in consumer loans. It also set aside $3.8 billion for credit losses, compared with $2 billion a year earlier, 'reflecting continued weakness in the home equity and mortgage loan portfolios'.
