16 April 2009 - First-quarter profits at US bank group JP Morgan Chase have come in ahead of expectations, despite falling 12.5% from a year ago to $2.1bn (£1.41bn).
JP Morgan - which last year bought Bear Sterns and acquired most of the assets of failed lender Washington Mutual - is the latest US bank to report better-than-expected figures.
In the past week, Goldman Sachs has reported profits ahead of forecasts and Wells Fargo has said it expects record net profits for the first-quarter.
