JPMorgan Chase, the largest US bank by assets, kicked off Wall Street’s earnings season with lower quarterly profits as the legal costs that have plagued the group for two years continued to take their toll.
以资产计为美国第一大银行的摩根大通(JPMorgan Chase)开启了华尔街的业绩报告季。该行报告称，去年四季度利润出现下滑，原因仍然是已困扰了该行两年的法律诉讼费用。
It was outshone by Wells Fargo, the San Francisco-based lender, which reported higher full-year profits than its east coast rival for the first time in four years.
相比较而言，总部位于旧金山的富国银行(Wells Fargo)的全年利润高于摩根大通，这是富国银行四年来首次超过其位于美国东海岸的竞争对手。
At JPMorgan, fourth-quarter net income fell 7 per cent to $5.3bn, or $1.30 a share, on revenue that fell 1 per cent to $24.1bn, compared with the same period a year earlier.
摩根大通去年四季度净利润同比下滑7%，至53亿美元，相当于每股1.30美元，营收下滑1%至241亿美元。
The results mark the end of a year in which JPMorgan was enmeshed in a series of regulatory scandals and reached a record $13bn settlement to address claims it had mis-sold mortgage securities.
摩根大通去年麻烦不断，身陷一系列监管丑闻，并因涉嫌不当销售抵押贷款支持证券，以支付创纪录的130亿美元与当局达成了和解。
Three months ago, the bank recorded its first quarterly loss since 2004 after taking a big litigation charge to cover its legal costs. Last week, it announced another $1.1bn charge to top up its legal reserves to cover $2.6bn in settlements for its failure to alert US authorities to Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.
3个月前，在计入高额诉讼费用之后，摩根大通报告了自2004年以来的首次季度亏损。上周，摩根大通又宣布了11亿美元的诉讼费用，加上因未能就伯纳德•马多夫(Bernard Madoff)的庞氏骗局向美国当局发出警示而支付的26亿美元和解金，该行被迫进一步上调法律诉讼准备金。
Jamie Dimon, chief executive, said in a statement: “It was in the best interests of our company and shareholders for us to accept responsibility, resolve these issues and move forward.”
该行首席执行官杰米•戴蒙(Jamie Dimon)在声明中表示：“承担责任、解决这些问题并继续前进，最符合本公司和股东们的利益。”
Asked whether he had considered resigning in the wake of the deluge of legal issues or faced calls to quit from investors, Mr Dimon said: “No, no and it’s all up to the board.”
在被问及是否考虑过在这一波法律麻烦过后辞职、或投资者是否已呼吁他辞职时，戴蒙表示：“没有，这完全取决于董事会的决定。”
Although the bank’s fourth-quarter earnings were lower than last year’s, they exceeded analysts’ expectations. Analysts had forecast net income of about $4.5bn and earnings per share of about $1.14.
尽管摩根大通去年四季度的利润同比下滑，但这个数字已经超越了分析师的预期。分析师之前预计，该行当期净利润将约为45亿美元，每股净利润将约为1.14美元。
Wells Fargo, the biggest US bank by market value despite its much smaller balance sheet, notched up another record quarter of profit as it cut expenses – including more than 6,000 jobs in its mortgage division – to offset a drop in mortgage refinancing. The bank reported net income of $5.6bn in the fourth quarter, up 10 per cent from a year ago, and ahead of analyst estimates of $5.3bn.
以市值计为美国第一大银行（但资产负债表规模排名较低）的富国银行则创下了又一个季度利润纪录。该行削减了支出，包括为应对抵押贷款再融资业务的下滑而在该部门裁员6000人。该行去年四季度净利润达到56亿美元，同比增长10%，并高于分析师先前预计的53亿美元。
“While the future is never certain, we start 2014 in a much better position than we started 2013,” said Tim Sloan, chief financial offer of Wells Fargo.
富国银行首席财务官蒂姆•斯隆(Tim Sloan)表示：“尽管未来永远是不确定的，但2014年开局远好于2013年开局。”
JPMorgan suffered a 57 per cent fall in net income to $858m, as its performance was affected by a variety of accounting charges – such as the profits and losses banks are forced to take from swings in the value of their own debt. Return on equity was 6 per cent, or 15 per cent excluding those accounting charges.
摩根大通投资银行部门净利润下滑57%，至8.58亿美元。这份业绩受到一系列会计准则调整的影响，比如自身债务价格变化导致的利润和损失。股本回报率为6%，剔除会计调整后为15%。
Bankers’ pay at JPMorgan was also down year-on-year, although flat as a proportion of revenues, at 27 per cent. Unlike some rivals, that ratio includes the pay of a large number of commercial bankers, who earn less than investment bankers – bringing down the overall percentage.
在摩根大通工作的银行家的薪酬同比也出现了下滑，但薪酬占营收的比例仍然维持在27%。与一些竞争对手不同的是，摩根大通将大量商业银行部门员工的薪酬（他们的薪酬低于投行部门的员工）也计算在内，从而拉低了整体的百分数。
Shares in JPMorgan and Wells Fargo were both flat in afternoon trade, at $57.72 and $45.58 respectively.
摩根大通和富国银行股价昨日午盘均与前日持平，分别为每股57.72美元和45.58美元。