高額訴訟費導致摩根大通利潤下滑
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.
以資產計爲美國第一大銀行的摩根大通(JPMorgan Chase)開啓了華爾街的業績報告季。該行報告稱，去年四季度利潤出現下滑，原因仍然是已困擾了該行兩年的法律訴訟費用。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.
相比較而言，總部位於舊金山的富國銀行(Wells Fargo)的全年利潤高於摩根大通，這是富國銀行四年來首次超過其位於美國東海岸的競爭對手。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淨利潤同比下滑7%，至53億美元，相當於每股1.30美元，營收下滑1%至241億美元。
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.
摩根大通去年麻煩不斷，身陷一系列監管醜聞，並因涉嫌不當銷售抵押貸款支持證券，以支付創紀錄的130億美元與當局達成了和解。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個月前，在計入高額訴訟費用之後，摩根大通報告了自2004年以來的首次季度虧損。上週，摩根大通又宣佈了11億美元的訴訟費用，加上因未能就伯納德•馬多夫(Bernard Madoff)的龐氏騙局向美國當局發出警示而支付的26億美元和解金，該行被迫進一步上調法律訴訟準備金。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.”
該行首席執行官傑米•戴蒙(Jamie Dimon)在聲明中表示：“承擔責任、解決這些問題並繼續前進，最符合本公司和股東們的利益。”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.”
在被問及是否考慮過在這一波法律麻煩過後辭職、或投資者是否已呼籲他辭職時，戴蒙表示：“沒有，這完全取決於董事會的決定。”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.
儘管摩根大通去年四季度的利潤同比下滑，但這個數字已經超越了分析師的預期。分析師之前預計，該行當期淨利潤將約爲45億美元，每股淨利潤將約爲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.
以市值計爲美國第一大銀行（但資產負債表規模排名較低）的富國銀行則創下了又一個季度利潤紀錄。該行削減了支出，包括爲應對抵押貸款再融資業務的下滑而在該部門裁員6000人。該行去年四季度淨利潤達到56億美元，同比增長10%，並高於分析師先前預計的53億美元。“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.
富國銀行首席財務官蒂姆•斯隆(Tim Sloan)表示：“儘管未來永遠是不確定的，但2014年開局遠好於2013年開局。”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.
摩根大通投資銀行部門淨利潤下滑57%，至8.58億美元。這份業績受到一系列會計準則調整的影響，比如自身債務價格變化導致的利潤和損失。股本回報率爲6%，剔除會計調整後爲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.
在摩根大通工作的銀行家的薪酬同比也出現了下滑，但薪酬佔營收的比例仍然維持在27%。與一些競爭對手不同的是，摩根大通將大量商業銀行部門員工的薪酬（他們的薪酬低於投行部門的員工）也計算在內，從而拉低了整體的百分數。Shares in JPMorgan and Wells Fargo were both flat in afternoon trade, at $57.72 and $45.58 respectively.
摩根大通和富國銀行股價昨日午盤均與前日持平，分別爲每股57.72美元和45.58美元。
