NEW YORK – JPMorgan Chase saw its first-quarter profit jump nearly five fold from a year earlier, as the improving economy allowed the bank to release roughly $5 billion from its loan-loss reserves that it had stored away in the early weeks of the pandemic.
The nation's largest bank by assets said Wednesday that it earned $14.3 billion, or the equivalent of $4.50 per share, in the year's first three months.
That's compared to a profit of $2.87 billion, or 78 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. Excluding the loan loss releases, the bank earned $3.31 per share.
The results were significantly better than the forecast from analysts, who were looking for JPMorgan to report a profit of $3.10 per share, according to FactSet.