JPMorgan reports 13% rise in quarterly profit

[NEW YORK] JPMorgan Chase & Co, the biggest US bank by assets, reported a 13.4 per cent increase in quarterly profit on Friday as gains from higher interest rates more than offset a drop in bond trading.

The bank's net income rose to US$7.03 billion in the second quarter ended June 30 from US$6.20 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share rose to US$1.82 from US$1.55.

Analysts had expected earnings of US$1.58 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. It was not immediately clear if the reported results were comparable.

Executives at big banks warned in recent weeks that trading revenue during the quarter would be down from a year earlier, when client trading surged around UK's Brexit vote.

The latest quarter, however, benefited from the Federal Reserve more than doubling its overnight interest rate to a target range of one per cent to 1.25 per cent, compared with 0.25 per cent to 0.50 per cent a year earlier.

Wells Fargo & Co and Citigroup are also scheduled to report results on Friday.

REUTERS