JP Morgan profits double up in Q1

THE head of US banking giant JP Morgan harboured hopes of a "strong recovery" yesterday after the group posted a 54 per cent profits hike for the first three months of 2010.

By The Newsroom

Published 14th Apr 2010, 22:44 BST

Updated 14th Apr 2010, 23:01 BST

The bank's net profits of $3.3 billion dollars (2.1bn) were led by its investment banking arm – sparking a return to bumper pay-outs at the division.

After cutting investment banking pay-outs to $549 million dollars for the last quarter of 2009 amid intense scrutiny over pay, compensation costs roared back to $2.93bn for the latest quarter. The company has about 15,000 staff in the UK.