Commodities
JPMorgan cut earnings more than expected in Q2 and suspended buyback

JPMorgan, the largest U.S. bank by assets, reported weak financial results for the 2nd quarter of 2022. Net income fell 27.6% YoY to $8.6 billion, or $2.76 per share, and was 13 cents below Wall Street’s average estimate. At the same time, ROE fell to 13%.
The bank’s quarterly revenue rose 0.7% (YoY) to $31.6 billion, but also fell short of the consensus estimate of $31.8 billion. Net interest income jumped 18.5% to $15.2 billion on higher lending volumes and a net interest margin (up 18 bps to 1.8%). Meanwhile, non-interest income sagged 11.6% to $16.4 billion.
Revenue in the retail division (CCB) fell 1.1% (YoY) to $12.6 billion due to a 25.8% decline in mortgage lending revenue to $1 billion and a 6.3% decline in auto and card lending revenue to $5.1 billion, while consumer and small business lending revenue rose 9% to $6.6 billion. Corporate & Investment Bank (CIB) cut revenue by 9.6% to $11.9 billion.
Revenues from investment banking fell 60.5% to $1.4 billion due to a sharp weakening of M&A activity in the world, as well as lower volumes of stock and bond offerings, while revenues from trading operations rose by 7.6% to $8.7 billion, helped by increased volatility in financial markets. Commercial banking revenues rose 8.1% to $2.7 billion and asset management revenues rose 4.8% to $4.3 billion, despite an 8.2% decline in assets under management to $2.7 trillion.
Operating expenses rose 6.1% to $18.7 billion, and operating efficiency (cost/income, or CI) deteriorated 3 pct. to 59.3%. At the same time, significant pressure on profits was exerted by the creation of loan loss reserves of $428 million (in Q2 2021, the bank, on the contrary, released $3 billion in reserves), which was due to the worsening outlook for the global economy.
JPMorgan’s assets were $3.84 trillion at the end of Q2, up 2.6% YTD and 4.3% (YoY). Loans rose 6.1% year over year to $1.10 trillion and deposits rose 7.2% to $2.47 trillion.
The total amount of provisions for possible loan losses amounted to $17.6 billion, or 1.69% of all issued loans at the end of the reporting period, up from $16.4 billion, or 1.62%, at the beginning of this year. The Tier 1 capital adequacy ratio (CET1) declined to 12.2% from 13.1% at the beginning of the year.
During the reporting period, JPMorgan returned $3.2 billion to its shareholders through share buybacks ($224 million) and dividend payments ($3 billion). At the same time, the bank reported that it had suspended the buyback to meet its reserve requirements.
According to Jamie Dimon, head of JPMorgan, the U.S. economy continues to grow, as does the labor market and consumer spending. Risk factors include geopolitical tensions, high inflation, deteriorating consumer confidence, and uncertainty about how high rates will go. All of these, combined with the conflict in Ukraine undermining global energy and food markets, are likely to have a negative impact on the global economy at some point in the future.
Despite the rather weak Q2 report, there remains a cautiously positive view of JPMorgan’s long-term prospects. While risks to the global economy have increased substantially in recent months, the onset of a global recession is not imminent, in our view.
And U.S. banks will continue to feel relatively well, although their results this year will not appear to be the strongest. We expect that thanks to its diversified business model, solid balance sheets, and strong positions in all major segments, JPMorgan will be able to get through a challenging 2022 without major shocks, and its earnings will resume growth as early as next year.
Commodities
Analysts at U.S. bank Goldman Sachs revised its forecast on oil prices

Analysts at U.S. bank Goldman Sachs, one of the most optimistic forecasts about the cost of oil, changed its earlier forecast about the growth of oil prices to $100 in the next 12 months, Bloomberg said.
Now analysts predict that Brent crude oil will reach $94 per barrel in the next 12 months and $97 per barrel in the second half of 2024, the publication said.
The bank said oil prices have fallen despite rising demand in China, given pressure on the banking sector, recession fears and investor withdrawal.
“Historically, after such traumatic events, price adjustments and recoveries are only gradual,” the bank notes.
This week, the situation surrounding Swiss bank Credit Suisse triggered panic in the markets as oil plummeted to a 15-month low and Brent crude fell 12% to below $73 a barrel.
After the price decline, the bank expects OPEC producers to increase production only in the third quarter of 2024, contrary to Goldman’s forecast that it will happen in the second half of 2023. Analysts at the bank believe a barrel of Brent blend will reach $94 in the next 12 months and trade at $97 in the second half of 2024.
Bloomberg reported that the largest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, announced higher April oil prices for markets in Asia and Europe.
Earlier, we reported that Iraq and OPEC advocated for guarantees of no fluctuations in oil prices.
Commodities
Iraq and OPEC stood up for guarantees of no fluctuations in oil prices

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani and OPEC Secretary General Haysam al-Ghajs said coordination between oil-exporting countries is necessary to ensure that oil prices do not fluctuate in the market. the Iraqi government said in a statement on its website following the OPEC Secretary General’s visit to Baghdad.
“Oil-exporting countries need to coordinate their actions to avoid fluctuations in oil prices and their impact on both exporting and consuming countries,” the statement said.
Iraq is a founding member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Also, Iraqi Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani said Sunday that the country intends to maintain the rate of oil production cuts of 220,000 barrels a day in line with its quota under the latest OPEC+ alliance agreement.
“We have committed some oil companies operating in the south to cut production to meet the agreed upon OPEC+ rates,” he said.
We previously reported that the price of Brent dropped below $75 per barrel for the first time in more than a year.
Commodities
The price of Brent dropped below $75 per barrel for the first time in more than a year

The price of Brent dropped. Contracts for Brent crude oil to be delivered in May 2023 dipped below $75 per barrel in trading on March 15, Intercontinental Exchange data shows. Below that mark, the price fell for the first time in more than a year – since December 2021. At its lowest price, Brent was $74.04 per barrel, $3.41 (4.4%) less than at the close of trading on March 14 ($77.45 per barrel).
Brent is falling fast for the third day in a row. The price of fuel has fallen by $8.74 per barrel (10.56%) for three trading days: On March 10 trading ended at $82.78 per barrel, and on the weekend of March 11-12, the exchange was closed.
The turmoil affects the price of oil in the banking sector. Collapse of shares of Swiss bank Credit Suisse on the background of its problems and the refusal of the largest investor to inject new money worried world markets and overshadowed hopes for a recovery in oil demand in China, wrote Reuters. Also, three banks in the U.S. have gone bankrupt or closed since early March, including Silicon Valley Bank, which was the nation’s 16th-largest. It became the largest collapsed bank in the U.S. since the 2008 financial crisis. Investors fear a new crisis: The risk of a U.S. recession has intensified amid bank problems, Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, told Bloomberg.
A statement from the Saudi National Bank, which owns 9.9 percent of Credit Suisse, that it could not make new investments put an end to signs that Credit Suisse had just begun to stabilize, Reuters noted. “Fears of contagion [of the entire banking system] are gaining ground. As a result, the dollar is strengthening and securities are weakening – bad signs for oil,” said Tamas Varga, an analyst at oil brokerage PVM. “Credit Suisse and broader concerns about banks are negatively affecting sentiment. The outlook has suddenly become highly uncertain, and that’s hitting oil prices in the near-term,” said Craig Erlam, market analyst at brokerage OANDA.
The price of U.S. WTI crude fell below $69 a barrel: that hasn’t happened since late 2021 either, Bloomberg noted. The International Energy Agency also took a pessimistic stance in its monthly report and predicted that global oil supply will “comfortably” exceed demand in the first half of 2023, the agency wrote. There are growing concerns that more than 10 years of “easy money” with a sharp increase in key rates at the end “will not end well,” Bjarne Schildrup, senior natural resources analyst at SEB AB, told Bloomberg.
Earlier we reported that oil prices accelerated their fall, continuing the trend from the beginning of the week.
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