JPMorgan’s fourth quarter blighted by $1bn forex fine
JPMorgan Chase's fourth quarter earnings have been hit by nearly $1bn (£656m) of legal costs relating to the forex scandal.
The bank would have reported an annual increase in net income of more than $500m (£328m) if it had not been for the fees. Instead it was down 6.6 per cent.
The figures
Profit was a below-consensus $4.9bn (£3.2bn) for the last three months of 2014, compared with $5.3bn (£3.5bn) recorded in 2013.
Revenue also fell, though by a much smaller proportion – down two per cent to $23.6bn (£15.5bn). That was in line with the full year figures, which were down two per cent to $97.9bn (£64.2bn).
Despite a less-than-stellar Q4, JPMorgan posted record earnings for the full year, at $21.8bn (£14.3bn), up from $17.9bn (£11.7bn).
What JPMorgan said:
Chairman and chief executive Jamie Dimon did not mention the legal fees. Instead he chose to focus on the positives.
He said: "Our businesses continue to demonstrate strong momentum and expense discipline.”
2014 was a record year for the firm for net income and EPS. We delivered on our commitments – including business simplification, controls, expense discipline and meeting our capital targets for the year – while maintaining excellent customer satisfaction rankings.
I am proud of this great company, its exceptional management team and employees, and everything we are achieving for our clients, shareholders and communities. Each of our businesses and the company are very well positioned going into 2015 for long-term growth and success.
In short
JPMorgan has paid out a lot in fines in recent years, including a record $13bn (£8.5bn) in 2013 On one hand, at least that figure is down for 2014, although the total sum paid out keeps on rising and now stands at more than $25bn (£16.4bn) since 2010.
The market appears to be unimpressed by the results. Pre-open trading suggested the bank's share price could open down by as much as two per cent.