By Nupur Anand and Niket Nishant
NEW YORK (Reuters) -JPMorgan Chase’s investment banking fees have grown by a mid-teens percentage so far in the first quarter as clients’ economic optimism grows, Chief Operating Officer Jennifer Piepszak said on Tuesday.
Wall Street profits have surged in recent months as banks benefited from a recovery in dealmaking against the backdrop of a strong U.S. economy. Industry executives have stayed bullish even as the Trump administration announced a slew of economic and regulatory policy shifts that fueled uncertainty.
“We think we should see a real resurgence” in initial public offerings, Piepszak told an industry conference. While mergers and acquisitions may take time to pick up, companies are becoming more optimistic about doing deals, she said.
Meanwhile, trading revenues have risen by low double-digit percentages, Piepszak said.
Separately, the bank was focused on expanding its payments business, which processes almost $10 trillion a day.
“We have a lot of countries to enter,” she added.
JPMorgan shares climbed 1.7% to $275.79 in afternoon trading.
While the bank expects market activity to pick up, some companies are staying on the sidelines and awaiting more clarity on economic policies. The caution was also weighing on commercial loan demand, Piepszak said.
“What we hear from clients is optimism, but a bit of a wait-and-see approach around committing to significant investments,” Piepszak said.
Her comments echoed those of Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, who told a separate conference on Tuesday that markets were responding positively to the Trump administration’s focus on economic growth.
“The market believes that a more growth-oriented agenda will spur investment,” Solomon said. “There’s a little bit of unleash of animal spirits. Market participants are excited about that.”
Still, Solomon noted that many policy details remained uncertain and would create some market volatility.
(Reporting by Nupur Anand in New York and Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Chris Reese, Lananh Nguyen and Nick Zieminski)
