JPM Chase & Co। on Thursday said first quarter profit fell 10% as the banking giant boosted reserves for bad loans by more than $4 billion. The company added a total of $4।2 billion to credit reserves, raising its aggregate provision to $28 billion, representing 4।53% of assets, the company said.Among other closely watched metrics, the New York-based bank said its Tier 1 capital level was 11।3% during the quarter, or 9.2% if the calculation excludes capital the bank got under the government's TARP investment plan. Tangible common equity, or the value of the company minus its liabilities, was $87.2 billion. Analysts at Thomson Reuters had, on average, expected the company to post a profit of 32 cents a share।
"It is reasonable to expect additional increases to credit reserves if the economic environment worsens। Yet, we are confident that even a highly adverse economic scenario would not compromise our overall strength and stability -- or our ability to enhance our franchises," Dimon added. Net revenue rose to $25.3 billion compared to $16.89 billion a year ago. The bank saw provision for credit losses soar 94%, reaching $8.6 billion.
