July 14 (UPI) — JPMorgan Chase & Co. reported a massive fiscal year profit of more than $26 billion on Friday — the largest ever posted by a U.S. bank.
The institution reported $26.5 billion in profit over the last 12 months. However, its profit from fixed income and equity trading fell 14 percent in the second quarter of 2017, the report said, to $4.8 billion.
JPMorgan lowered its outlook for loan growth and interest income for the second half of 2017, though. Other banks, including Wells Fargo & Co. and Citigroup Inc., posted drops in lending and in trading revenue, an indication that major banks are hampered by inaction in Washington, Bloomberg Newsreported Friday. It added that optimism after the election of President Donald Trump, which led to a run-up in stock prices, is starting to fade.
The Federal Reserve has not altered plans to gradually raise interest rates; health care bills have not been passed nor have other major initiatives on the Congressional agenda, and other disruptive political forces which could offer traders windows of opportunity, such an anticipated rightward shift in European leadership, did not come to pass, The New York Times noted Friday.
Despite the Washington gridlock, JPMorgan Chase performed well, CEO Jamie Dimon said, in a period of what he termed “lower volatility and client activity.”
