The Charlie Scharf era began with the company's lowest quarterly net income in more than nine years. Culprits included falling revenue, rising salaries and yet more financial fallout from the bank's sales scandal.
The country's biggest bank is leaning more on fee income to offset rate pressures, expanding in selected U.S. cities and laying the groundwork for operations in China that CEO Jamie Dimon hopes will endure “for 100 years.”
Fueled by a rebound in trading, especially in fixed income, the company said profit jumped 21% in the fourth quarter, pushing annual earnings to a record $36.4 billion.