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By Noor Zainab Hussain and David Henry
(Reuters) -JPMorgan Chase & Co's Jamie Dimon struck a cautious note on the global economy as America's largest bank reported a worse-than-expected 28% fall in quarterly profit and suspended share buybacks in the face of growing risks of a recession.
The chief executive also stressed the need to build capital reserves due to increasing requirements from regulators, while flagging a number of concerns including the war in Ukraine, high inflation and the "never-before-seen" quantitative tightening as threats to global economic growth.
Closer to home, however, the economy continues to grow and the job market and consumer spending remain healthy, Dimon said, even as the bank braced for potential loan losses by setting aside more money.
Dimon told reporters that he still believes a storm of uncertain magnitude is coming for the economy. The risks, he said, "are nearer than they were before."
"The potential outcome ranges from a soft-landing to something much harder," Dimon said.
Overall, the results presented a grim picture for the three months since the U.S. Federal Reserve started raising interest rates to tame runaway inflation, sending financial markets into a tailspin on fears of slowing growth.
"As far as the things that you don't want to see, you've got pretty much every one of them," Thomas Hayes, managing member at Great Hill Capital Llc in New York, said.
"Missing the top and bottom line, cutting the buybacks and increasing credit reserves are all things consistent with battening down the hatches for a recession," he added.
JPMorgan's shares slid nearly 5% as the bank recorded $1.1 billion in provision for credit losses, including a $428 million boost in loss provisions. Last year, the bank had released $3 billion from its reserves.
The shares were down 4.2% in mid-afternoon.
It posted a profit of $8.6 billion, or $2.76 per share, missing the average analyst estimate of $2.88 per share, according to Refinitiv.
Other large U.S. banks including Citigroup and Wells Fargo will report results this week, while Goldman Sachs and Bank of America will round out big bank earnings season next week.
DEALS DOWN
Investment bankers fared the worst at JPMorgan, with revenue from the business sliding 61% to $1.4 billion. Rival Morgan Stanley also reported a slump in its dealmaking unit.
Lower fees from fewer debt and equity issuances and a $257 million markdown on its book of bridge loans also hurt the investment banking business.