Higher interest rates help and hurt these banks

Article Excerpt

Due to higher interest rates, these two leading U.S. banks continue to set aside more funds to cover potential future loan losses. At the same time, they are earnings more interest income on their loans. Despite higher rates, loan demand remains steady, which should let them keep raising your dividends. J.P. MORGAN CHASE & CO. $171 is a buy. The bank (New York symbol JPM; Conservative-Growth Payer Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 2.9 billion; Market cap: $495.9 billion; Dividend yield: 2.5%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.jpmorganchase.com) is the largest banking firm in the U.S., with total assets of $3.89 trillion as of December 31, 2023. With the October 2023 payment, Morgan increased your quarterly dividend by 5.0%, to $1.05 a share from $1.00. The new annual rate of $4.20 yields 2.5%. Morgan set aside $2.76 billion in the quarter ended December 31, 2023, to cover potential loan losses, up 20.7% from $2.29 billion a year earlier. That’s due to a weaker outlook for commercial real estate…