JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees ‘resilient’ US economy

NEW YORK: JPMorgan Chase reported a dip in profits on higher costs Friday while still topping expectations as executives described US consumers as healthy and the economy as poised to avoid recession.

But while the bank sees the US economy as “resilient”, CEO Jamie Dimon offered a bracing geopolitical outlook, calling conditions “treacherous and getting worse”.The US banking giant enjoyed increases in revenues for equity trading as well as higher fees for asset management and investment banking.

However, costs tied to credit losses more than doubled from the year-ago period to $3.1 billion due to in part to $1 billion in reserves in case of bad loans.But executives said the uptick in charge-offs was consistent with what it describes as “normalization” in credit quality rather than a sign of significant weakening in consumer health. “We see the spending patterns as being sort of solid, consistent with the narrative that the consumers are on solid footing and consistent with a strong labor market,” said Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum, describing the dynamic as in line with a “soft landing” or “no landing” scenario.A soft landing is one in which a period of fast growth gives way to slow growth rather than a recession. JPMorgan’s profits for the third quarter came in at $12.9 billion, down 2.0 per cent from the same period a year ago. Revenues were $42.7 billion, up 7.0 per cent.

Navigating Fed policy shift

Heading into the quarter, markets had been focused on how banks would navigate a pivot in US monetary policy to one in which interest rates are being lowered.The shift is broadly expected to lead to lower net interest income (NII), which accounts for the difference banks make on loans minus what they pay in interest to depositors.