JPMorgan has record revenue and $2.7 billion in profit

While Citi and BofA are getting taken to the woodshed for double secret probation, JPMorgan Chase is showing record revenue of $25.6 billion and a large profit of $2.7 billion.  As profit is up 36% from a year earlier and 27% from just last quarter, you can see that JPM is now firing on all

JPMorgan’s $29 Billion windfall

The following Bloomberg article points out why I have repeatedly argued that banks will be earning a lot of money, Meredith Whitney’s counter-arguments notwithstanding. It also points out why the likes of John Hempton believe that the FDIC ‘stole’ Washington Mutual from shareholders and awarded it to JPMorgan, a view I have not supported (hat

Jamie Dimon: ‘we don’t need’ your money

On the back of a decent quarter at JPMorgan Chase, CEO Jamie Dimon has signalled his desire to repay government money as quickly as possible and remove the strings attached to that money.  Dimon has often said that JPMorgan Chase did not need the TARP bailout money it has received and only accepted  because it

Quote of the day: Wells and BofA are choking on acquisitions

Chris Whalen, a well-regarded bank analyst, ran an interview piece with Nouriel Roubini on Barry Ritholtz’s site. The conversation was very illuminating and I highly recommend reading the whole post linked below. However, I wanted to point out a quote from Chris in the piece that I find significant in light of the recent dividend

JPMorgan cuts its dividend fom 38 to 5 cents

From MarketWatch: J.P. Morgan Chase said late Monday that its board cut the company’s quarterly dividend to 5 cents from 38 cents, effective for the dividend payable April 30. “The board anticipates maintaining this level for the time being. This action will enable the company to retain an additional $5 billion in common equity per

Banking Committee: Videos of CEOs’ opening statements

We heard testimony before the House Banking Committee in Washington today. The CEOs of eight large financial institutions are being raked over the coals by Congress. It was a scene which reminded me of the Pecora Hearings during the Great Depression. It was also one which is being repeated in London.

The Congressmen are ludicrously indignant — after all, Congress has been complicit in the state of affairs. One member of Congress asked the men (there are no women) to raise their hand to questions on several occassions like schoolboys in a classroom — questions akin to “when did you stop beating your wife.”

I see these proceedings as more show trial to reassure the public than anything substantive. Nevertheless, they are entertaining. Below are videos of the opening statements from each of the CEOs. You might find their comments illuminating regarding their thinking now that the economy has collapsed and they have needed governement assistance.

You should also note that not all of these banks are in a precarious way. Some are better off than others

Bank of America: Bailout hides huge bank subsidy deep in press release text

Marshall Auerback here. I wanted to add a few thoughts to the discussion about recent events in U.S. banking. Below is the Federal Reserve press release on the Bank of America bailout. Here are the most important words from the release:

where the debt is supported by collateral and the issuance supports new consumer lending.

The carrot and stick in the paragraph in red above and below is something brand new and out of the box. It is surprising that it came on Bush’s watch but it has Obama’s fingers all over it. This is a big new push by the government and it has Barney Frank and Shelia Bair’s names all over it

JPMorgan: Beats expectations despite writedowns

JPMorgan Chase moved up its earnings announcement to today in order to surprise the market with better than expected earnings. The company reported full-year income of $5.6 billion and 4th-quarter income of $702 million or $0.07 a share, beating consensus estimates of $0.01 a share. You should note, these numbers do not include the estimated $31.2 billion of writedowns associated with the Washington Mutual transaction. But, folks, for banks, this is as good as it gets

Jamie Dimon on the economy

It’s interesting to hear a chief executive of a major Wall Street firm speak openly and on the record about the economy. So, it’s refreshing to watch this video and see Jamie Dimon’s take on a number of economic issues ncluding house prices and infrastructure spending.

A few days ago, I showed you a video from a long session he did with Erin Burnett of CNBC. This is another segment of that session. On the whole, he sounds very reasonable. Take a look.

Jamie Dimon on the Economy

Jamie Dimon: November was terrible, December is terrible

Jamie Dimon tells it like it is. When asked by CNBC’s Erin Burnett’s how business is going, Dimon replied “terrible.” Here’s how Reuters describes his comments: “November itself has been a terrible trading month … (and) December so far is pretty terrible,” Jamie Dimon told CNBC. “It will be a tough quarter.” Dimon said he was referring to the trading, loans and mortgage segments of the largest U.S. bank

JPMorgan Chase: Large exposure to real economy downturn

The financial services sector has been the hardest hit sector in the credit crisis so far. Banks with large exposures to mortgage-backed securities like Citigroup, UBS and Merrill Lynch have suffered the most. This is largely because the crisis has been in asset prices — chiefly home prices. However, as credit has become severely restricted, the credit crisis has become a global recession and that means the real economy will be impacted. This spells trouble for JPMorgan Chase

Jamie Dimon: “If You Are Not Fearful, You Are Crazy”

I love Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase’s CEO. He really tells it like it is. At last quarter’s earnings call, he called a spade a spade and said “prime looks terrible” in reference to prime mortgage loans. This quarter his quote is even more to the point: “If You Are Not Fearful, You Are Crazy.” -Deal