Citigroup says some predecessor companies likely saw indirect financial benefits from slavery
Some of the companies that formed what is now Citigroup likely benefitted financially from slavery in the 1800โs, the financial giant acknowledged Thursday, an admission that comes at a time when numerous institutions are re-examining their historic roots and the roles they played in slavery in the U.S. In research conducted last year, Citi found that none of its predecessor companies directly purchased, sold, or held slaves.
US Virgin Islands says it can't find Elon Musk to serve a subpoena in Jeffrey Epstein lawsuit
The government of the U.S. Virgin Islands is asking a federal judge to help it serve billionaire Elon Musk with a subpoena for documents in its lawsuit seeking to hold JPMorgan Chase liable for sex trafficking acts committed by businessman Jeffrey Epstein.
First Republic Bank seized, sold in fire sale to JPMorgan
Regulators seized troubled First Republic Bank early Monday, making it the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history, and promptly sold all of its deposits and most of its assets to JPMorgan Chase in a bid to stop further banking turmoil that has dominated the first half of this year.
Optimistic banks start moving 'bad' loans back to 'good'
(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)CHARLOTTE, N.C. โ The pandemic and recession arenโt over by a long shot, but banks are feeling optimistic enough to start taking potentially โbadโ loans off their books and move them back into the โgoodโ pile. Citigroup had a similar story, releasing $1.5 billion of its loan-loss reserves that it had set aside earlier last year. Still, those amounts are just a fraction of the tens of billions of dollars into their so-called loan-loss reserves to cover potentially bad loans in the first months of the pandemic. In releasing funds from loan-loss reserves, the banks cited the improvement in the economy. JPMorgan still has more than $30 billion tied up in its loan-loss reserves, and banks like Citi and Wells have similar figures on their balance sheets.
Weak 0.3% US October sales gain spreads some holiday unease
NEW YORK โ Retail sales in the U.S. grew a sluggish 0.3% in October, even as retailers offered early holiday discounts online and in stores. Economists had expected sales to rise 0.5%, already a significant tail off from September's gain of 1.6%. Sales rose at home and garden stores, electronics and appliance stores, and online retailers. Nationwide, spending fell to 7.4% below a year ago, JPMorgan said, a drop of about 2.5 percentage points from two weeks earlier. Yet at clothing stores and sporting good shops, sales fell more than 4%.
'More people may die': Biden urges Trump to aid transition
โMore people may die if we donโt coordinate,โ Biden told reporters during a news conference in Wilmington, Delaware. The Trump administration is working on its own distribution plan, while Bidenโs chief of staff indicated his transition team will proceed with their own planning separately because of the obstruction. Last week, a larger group of Republicans in Congress called on the Trump administration to allow Biden to begin receiving national security briefings. Since defeating Trump, Biden has devoted most of his public remarks to encouraging Americans to wear masks and embrace social distancing measures. But on whether Biden should receive coronavirus briefings, many of Trump's allies on Capitol Hill remained dug in.
Bank profits remain resilient despite lingering pandemic
In the early months of the U.S. pandemic, banks set aside tens of billions of dollars to cover losses that could come from loans that were suddenly going bad. On top of the stimulus, banks entered into this pandemic the healthiest theyโve been in years and certainly healthier than they were before the financial crisis of 2008. JPMorgan set aside $611 million to cover potentially bad loans in the third quarter, a fraction of the $10.47 billion the bank set aside to cover bad loans in the second quarter. On Wednesday, Bank of America said it set aside $1.4 billion to cover potentially bad loans, far less than the $5.1 billion it set aside three months earlier. Most of the worry seems to reflect investors' uncertainty about whether banks will have to set aside additional billions in the future.
Bank of America profit falls 15.6% in third quarter
CHARLOTTE, N.C. โ Consumer banking giant Bank of America says third-quarter profit declined 15.6% from a year earlier, but saw less need to put aside money to cover potentially bad loans, citing improvements in the U.S. economy. The North Carolina-based bank said Wednesday that it earned a profit of $4.88 billion, or 51 cents per share, down from a profit of $5.78 billion, or 56 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. BofA had $1.4 billion in loan-loss reserves in the third quarter, down from the $5.1 billion it set aside in the second quarter. BofAโs loan-loss reserves were higher than JPMorgan's, which only set aside $611 million in the quarter, but less than the $2.26 billion that Citigroup had set aside. The bankโs net interest yield โ a measurement of how much profit the bank is earning on the loans it approved โ was 1.72% in the quarter, down from 2.41% a year earlier.
JPMorgan, Citi profits improve amid signs of recovery
Both Citi and JPMorgan set aside fewer funds to cover potentially bad loans, contributing to the improvement in their third-quarter results. JPMorgan had $611 million in loan loss provisions this quarter, a fraction of the $10.47 billion the bank set aside in the second quarter. Meanwhile Citigroupโs provision for credit losses was $2.26 billion in the third quarter compared to $7.9 billion the quarter before. Citi said its third-quarter net income fell to $3.23 billion from $4.91 billion a year earlier. JPMorgan and Citi were the first of the major banks to report its results this week.
JPMorgan puts $30B toward fixing banking's 'systemic racism'
CHARLOTTE, N.C. โ JPMorgan Chase said Thursday it will extend billions in loans to Black and Latino homebuyers and small business owners in an expanded effort toward fixing what the bank calls โsystemic racismโ in the countryโs economic system. โSystemic racism is a tragic part of Americaโs history,โ said JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon in a statement. Citigroup announced last month it is committing $1 billion toward closing โthe racial wealth gapโ in the United States, including $550 million toward homeownership programs for racial minorities. He noted that thereโs a 30% gap between Black and white homeownership, amounting to about 4.5 million households. JPMorgan was one of 27 major New York-based companies that joined a program to recruit 100,000 workers from the city's low-income, predominately Black, Latino and Asian communities over the next 10 years.
Some JPMorgan traders catch COVID as bank reopens offices
NEW YORK โ A number of JPMorgan Chase traders have been sent home after employees tested positive for COVID-19, less than a week into the bank's push to start bringing its workers physically back into the office. New York-based JPMorgan has been insisting its traders and senior management return to their physical offices, setting a required start date of Sept. 21. Marchiony declined to say whether JPMorgan would continue its push to reopen the offices or what percentage of the its workforce of about 257,000 was now working physically in branches and offices. Few other banks or financial companies had been as insistent as JPMorgan to return its workers to the office. For example, American Express, which has a substantial presence in New York City like JPMorgan, announced that all its employees could continue to work remotely until July 2021.
US consumer spending up 5.6%, but virus could stall gains
The number of laid-off Americans who have applied for unemployment benefits has topped 1 million for 19 straight weeks. The $1,200 checks have been largely spent, though, and the $600 in unemployment benefits is expiring. Doing so would weaken spending by consumers, the primary driver of the economy. Unemployed Americans have been receiving both state unemployment aid and $600 a week in additional benefits from the federal government. The federal aid has pumped nearly $20 billion a week into the economy and enabled many of the unemployed to stay afloat.
Banks set aside billions, bracing for more economic pain
Thanks largely to the funds set aside for bad loans, JPMorgan's profit fell by half in the April-June quarter, Citigroup's sank about 70% and Wells Fargo reported its first quarterly loss since the financial crisis of 2008. In its second-quarter results, JPMorgan said it set aside $10.5 billion to cover potentially bad loans. Thats on top of the $8.3 billion the bank set aside in April, when the pandemic was only just starting to impact the U.S. economy. Citi, which is heavily exposed in credit cards, set aside an additional $7.9 billion to cover potentially bad loans. Wells Fargo, which did not set aside as much money as its peers in April, had to play catch up this quarter, setting aside $8.4 billion to cover potentially bad loans.
SBA opens 2nd round of Paycheck Protection Program applications
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. โ Another $310 billion is being added to the federal governmentโs Paycheck Protection Program so that lenders can offer more forgivable loans to small businesses. The second round of money is expected to go quickly. Bank of America reports they have $50 billion worth of applications ready to go through the second round. For example, BlueVine, Centerstone SBA Lending, Funding Circle, even PayPal are all accepting applications for PPP loans. On the SBA website, there is a page dedicated to showing you SBA-approved PPP lenders just by entering your ZIP code.
Dow pops 250 points on blockbuster earnings
Blockbuster earnings from the likes of JPMorgan Chase and UnitedHealth sent the Dow climbing more than 250 points, or roughly 1%, in afternoon trading. After weeks of trying to decipher the latest developments in the trade war, the start of earnings season has allowed investors to refocus on the fundamentals. The IMF on Tuesday cut its 2019 global growth forecast, calling for the weakest pace since the financial crisis. However, the big banks on the front lines of America's economy reported mostly upbeat results on Tuesday. The Wall Street firm was hurt by slowdowns in M&A and the trouble in the IPO market.
3 JPMorgan traders indicted in alleged pricing scheme
(CNN) - Three JPMorgan Chase traders in gold and other precious metals have been charged with alleged market manipulation by the US Department of Justice. The alleged conduct spanned eight years, the Justice Department said Monday. The government charged Gregg Smith, an executive director, and Michael Nowak, a managing director and head of the bank's global precious metals desk. The government claims the defendants engaged in "widespread spoofing, market manipulation and fraud" by placing trade orders they planned to cancel before executing them, according to a Justice Department statement. The aim "was to trick" other traders into buying and selling futures contracts at prices and at times they wouldn't have otherwise done, the Justice Department alleges.
JPMorgan: China tariffs could cost US households $1,000 a year
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(CNN) - President Donald Trump and his advisers insist their trade war with China won't hurt American consumers. The tariffs Trump has already imposed on China are estimated to cost the average American household $600 per year, according to a report by JPMorgan Chase. He said the tariffs on China will wipe out most of the benefits households got from the Republican tax cuts. Trade war casts shadow on economyThe tit-for-tat battle between the world's two largest economies threatens to set off a severe slowdown or even recession. Trump escalated the trade war with China this month by vowing to impose 10% tariffs on $300 billion of U.S. imports from China on Sept. 1.
Cargo ship owned by JPMorgan Chase seized with 20 tons of cocaine
More than $1 billion worth of cocaine seized at Philadelphia port, U.S. Attorney's office says. (CNN) - US authorities in Philadelphia seized a cargo vessel in June with nearly 20 tons of cocaine on board. The ship, as it turns out, is owned by a fund run by banking giant JPMorgan Chase. That means JPMorgan Chase does not have any operational control of the vessel, a Liberian-flagged ship that is run by the Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Company. At the time, just the drugs were seized by the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency.