JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s $6.2 billion trading loss last year is little more than a fading memory for bondholders who awarded the lender its cheapest U.S. borrowing costs ever at a debt sale yesterday.

The largest U.S. bank by assets sold $6 billion of securities, including $2.75 billion of 10-year notes with an unprecedented 3.2 percent coupon, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The extra yield investors demanded to hold those securities rather than government debt was 56 basis points tighter than where average comparable JPMorgan spreads traded before the scandal came to light in April.

JPMorgan's bond offering came a day after it reported a record profit for the third straight year even after posting the trading gaffe at the hands of an employee known as the London Whale. Aided by rising loan demand in a recovering economy, the New York-based bank boosted mortgage fees and related revenue almost threefold to $2.03 billion in the fourth quarter. The trading losses are close to being a "non-issue," Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said.

Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to Treasury & Risk, part of your ALM digital membership.

Your access to unlimited Treasury & Risk content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Thought leadership on regulatory changes, economic trends, corporate success stories, and tactical solutions for treasurers, CFOs, risk managers, controllers, and other finance professionals
  • Informative weekly newsletter featuring news, analysis, real-world case studies, and other critical content
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical coverage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.