JP Morgan earnings beat estimates

JPMorgan Chase & Co, the second-largest US bank, said profit fell 4 per cent, a smaller decline than analysts estimated, as the company benefited from accounting changes in the value of its liabilities. Third-quarter net income fell to $4.26 billion (Dh15.63 billion), or $1.02 a share, from $4.42 billion, or $1.01, in the same period a year earlier and $5.43 billion, or $1.27, in the second quarter, the New York-based company said on Wednesday in a statement. The average per-share estimate for adjusted earnings was 92 cents in a survey of 30 analysts by Bloomberg. Reserve releases helped Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon, 55, lead the bank to a record $17.4 billion in net income last year, the most of any US bank. About $7 billion came from the release of money set aside for losses, a benefit that also helped "soften the blow" in the third quarter of declining revenue from trading and investment banking, Jason Goldberg, an analyst at Barclays Capital in New York, wrote last Friday in a research note. "Credit quality overall will generally continue to improve and loan growth continues to show signs of improvement," Goldberg said in an interview on Wednesday. Jes Staley, CEO of JPMorgan's investment bank, braced investors last month for a 30 per cent drop in trading revenue from the second quarter.