JPMorgan 4Q profit falls 7 percent on legal costs...

 

In this photo provided by the Robin Hood Foundation, Jamie Dimon, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of JP Morgan Chase & Co., speaks at the inaugural Robin Hood Investors Conference in New York, Friday, Nov. 22, 2013. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reports quarterly financial results before the market opens on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014. (AP Photo/Robin Hood Foundation, Craig Warga)

NEW YORK (AP) — JPMorgan Chase said Tuesday that its profits fell 7 percent in the fourth quarter, hampered by more legal woes and a decline in the bank's investment banking business.

The bank reported net income of $5.28 billion in the last three months of 2013, down from $5.69 billion in the same period a year earlier.
On a per-share basis, JPMorgan said it earned $1.30 a share in the quarter, compared with $1.39 a share a year earlier. The bank's revenue fell 1 percent to $24.1 billion.

The bank's quarterly results had several one-time items, including a 27-cent-per-share charge related to legal expenses. On an adjusted basis, the bank said it earned $1.40 per share.

One of those legal expenses was the settlement over the bank's involvement in the Ponzi scheme of Bernard Madoff. The bank agreed Jan. 8 to pay $1.7 billion to settle criminal charges stemming from its failure to report its concerns about Madoff's private investment service.

"It was in the best interests of our company and shareholders for us to accept responsibility, resolve these issues and move forward," JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said in a statement.

Most of the bank's divisions reported year-over-year increases in profits, with the exception of JPMorgan's investment banking business. The bank reported a 57 percent decline in earnings from investment banking, as the bank readjusted the value of some of the bank's investments.

JPMorgan's legal problems have weighed on the bank's earnings. The bank posted a third-quarter loss in October, its first quarterly loss in 10 years.

JPMorgan shares rose 13 cents to $57.83 in premarket trading about an hour before the market opening.