JP Morgan Only To Buy Back Stock If Price Is Appropriate - Jamie Dimon (JPM)

JPMorgan Chase JPM today reported first-quarter 2011 net income of $5.6 billion, compared with net income of $3.3 billion in the first quarter of 2010. Earnings per share were $1.28, compared with $0.74 in the first quarter of 2010. Jamie Dimon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented on the quarter: “The Firm's results reflected a strong quarter across the Investment Bank and solid performance from Card Services, Commercial Banking, Treasury & Securities Services, and Asset Management. These results partially benefited from improved credit trends in our credit card and wholesale businesses.” Dimon continued: "Retail Financial Services demonstrated good underlying performance, while we continued to invest in building branches and adding to our sales force. However, this performance was more than offset by the extraordinarily high losses we still are bearing on mortgage-related issues.(a) Unfortunately, these losses will continue for a while. Rest assured, we are fully engaged in fixing our problems and addressing our mistakes from the past, and we will strive to build the best mortgage business going forward." Commenting on the balance sheet, Dimon said: “We strengthened our fortress balance sheet, ending the first quarter with a strong Tier 1 Common ratio of 10.0%. Looking forward, we intend to operate the business with the objectives of maintaining a Basel I Tier 1 Common ratio of at least 9.0% and meeting the Basel III requirements substantially ahead of time. Our earnings power will allow us to generate significant capital in excess of our objectives, enabling us to invest aggressively in our future. “We were pleased that our strong balance sheet allowed us to increase our annual dividend to $1.00 per share and to reestablish a significant share-repurchase program. Importantly, we will only buy back stock if we believe the price is appropriate and if it benefits our remaining shareholders. In the meantime, we will pursue the significant organic growth opportunities we see in each of our businesses as our top priority and our best use of capital.” Dimon also remarked: "In every way we can, we continue to support the economic recovery in the U.S. and around the world. This quarter alone, JPMorgan Chase provided credit to and raised capital for our clients of over $450 billion. These efforts have a meaningful impact on our communities - we originated mortgages to over 180,000 people; we provided credit cards to approximately 2.6 million people; we lent or increased credit to over 7,500 small businesses, allowing them to expand; we lent to over 500 not-for-profit and government entities, including states, municipalities, hospitals and universities; we extended or increased loan limits to approximately 1,500 middle market companies; and we lent to or raised capital for more than 3,500 corporations. In addition, we added 16,300 employees over the last twelve months, including more than 9,800 in the U.S. Furthermore, we remain committed to helping homeowners and preventing foreclosures. Since the beginning of 2009, we have offered 1,098,000 trial modifications to struggling homeowners." Dimon concluded: “We believe that a strong regulatory environment is essential, and we are working hard to ensure that we meet all the new rules and requirements, both in letter and spirit. While we expect to make numerous changes in our business, we do so with the needs and expectations of our customers foremost in our minds. As we look toward the future, we see incredible opportunities for the company, which our teams around the world are aggressively pursuing.”