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Pandemic preparations cut JPMorgan’s second quarter earnings in half.
JPMorgan Chase on Tuesday revealed that it had earned $4.7 billion during the months of April, May and June, just under half of what it earned during the same period a year ago, as it diverted billions of dollars to a reserve fund in order to prepare for a potential economic shock.
Despite the drop in earnings, another number suggested a boom time. While businesses and many regular services in vast swaths of the United States were closed to try to stem the coronavirus pandemic, JPMorgan brought in the largest quarterly revenue haul in its history: nearly $34 billion, compared to just over $29 billion in the second quarter of 2019. The increase was driven by a surge in its Wall Street businesses, including trading in stocks, bonds and other financial market instruments, where a record haul of $16 billion in JPMorgan’s Corporate & Investment Bank division represented a 66 percent increase from last year.
The bank added nearly $11 billion to the pool of money it keeps ready to cover any losses, $9 billion more than last year. Of that, almost $6 billion was designated to handle losses on loans to consumers, including credit cards.
Emily Flitter covers banking and Wall Street. Before joining The Times in 2017, she spent eight years at Reuters, writing about politics, financial crimes and the environment. More about Emily Flitter
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