US Lower loan losses bolster JP Morgan

JPMorgan Chase’s quarterly net income rose 13 percent, more than analysts had estimated, as more borrowers paid on time and the bank reduced credit card loan loss reserves by $1 billion (R6.8bn), it said yesterday. Second-quarter net income climbed to $5.43bn from $4.8bn a year earlier, the second-largest US bank said. JPMorgan was the most profitable US bank last year with a record $17.4bn in earnings after the release of $7bn in reserves back into income. “You continue to get reserve releases, which means that your headline earnings-per-share numbers beat” estimates, said Paul Miller, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets. – Bloomberg