JPMorgan Chase reports sharp fall in profitsApril 11, 2014 - 18:10 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. banking giant JPMorgan Chase reported a sharp fall in profits at the start of 2014, which it blamed on declines in its mortgage business, BBC News reports. The bank said net income in the three months to the end of March was $5.3bn - a fall of 19% compared with a year earlier. Profits from its mortgage business stood at $114mln, down $559m from last year. The figures mark the second successive quarterly fall in profits at the bank. Profits from its corporate and investment banking division stood at $2bn, down from $2.6bn just three months earlier. The results follow a 2013 marred by huge legal settlements over JPMorgan's mortgage practices prior to the 2008 crisis. The "London whale" trading scandal and other controversies including legal costs relating to the fraudster Bernie Madoff also dented earnings in 2013. JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon still described the bank's first quarter results as "good" given the industry-wide headwinds in both investment banking and mortgages. "We have growing confidence in the economy - consumers, corporations and middle market companies are in increasingly good financial shape and housing has turned the corner in most markets - and we are doing our part to support the recovery," Dimon said. Dimon called the conditions of 2013 "painful and nerve-wracking" in a letter to shareholders in April. However, bank officials are hopeful 2014 will see fewer large legal settlements with regulators and private parties. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. Armenians stage more campaigns against territorial concessions to Azerbaijan Protesters blocked more roads across Armenia on Friday, April 26 in continuing attempts to scuttle territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. |