Washington - JPMorgan Chase & Co said Wednesday that third- quarter profits rose almost seven-fold, to 3.59 billion dollars, far surpassing analysts' expectations. The profit boom came just months after the country's second- largest-bank-by-assets repaid its 25-billion-dollar government bailout.
Earnings in the same quarter of 2008, at the height of the financial crisis, were only 527 million dollars.
Much of the surge was attributed to the healthy condition of fixed-income investments, which generated revenues of 5 billion dollars in the quarter.
JPMorgan acquired Bear Stearns Cos and Washington Mutual's banking business as part of the financial upheaval of 2008.
But chief executive officer Jamie Dimon sounded a warning against premature optimism.
"Credit costs remain high and are expected to stay elevated for the foreseeable future," Dimon said in the statement. "While we are seeing some initial signs of consumer credit stability, we are not yet certain that this trend will continue."
JPMorgan's quarterly report is the first of a series from financial companies over the coming days, including Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Bank of America.
