Helped by lower taxes, JPMorgan's Q3 profits rise 24%

The New York-based bank has benefited greatly from the rise in interest rates in the past couple of years

FILE PHOTO: A sign outside the headquarters of JP Morgan Chase & Co in New York, September 19, 2013. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo
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JPMorgan Chase said that its third-quarter profits rose by 24 per cent from a year ago, helped by a lower tax bill and higher interest rates, which allowed it to charge more for loans to consumers and businesses alike.

That was enough to make up for a less-than-stellar quarter in its trading business.

The New York-based bank said it earned $8.38 billion in the first quarter, or $2.34 a share. That's up from $6.73bn, or $1.76 a share, in the same period a year earlier. The results beat the expectations of analysts, who were looking for JPMorgan to earn $2.26 a share, according to FactSet.

"The US and the global economy continue to show strength, despite increasing economic and geopolitical uncertainties, which at some point in the future may have negative effects on the economy," said Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan's chief executive and chairman, in a statement.

Investors will carefully watch results from JPMorgan and other big banks. The US stock market is coming off its worst two-day performance since February, and investors want to see evidence that corporate profits remain strong.

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JPMorgan's shares were up slightly in premarket trading on Friday.

Like many banks, JPMorgan has benefited greatly from the rise in interest rates in the past couple of years. The bank's net interest income rose by 9 per cent from a year earlier. While the bank had to pay more interest to depositors, it was more than able to make up for those higher costs by charging more to borrowers.

The bank's net interest spread, which is the difference between how much a bank paid depositors for their funds and how much the bank charged to lend them out, was 2.24 per cent in the quarter, up from 2.19 per cent a year earlier.

JPMorgan's other major business — its corporate and investment bank — had a weaker quarter than the rest of the bank. Investment banking revenues rose a modest 4 per cent from a year earlier, and trading revenues were effectively flat. While stock trading revenues rose 17 per cent from a year earlier, JPMorgan's bond trading revenues — a much bigger piece of the bank's trading business — fell 6 per cent.

Firm-wide, JPMorgan's quarterly revenue was $27.82bn, up from $26.45bn a year earlier.