JPMorgan's 4Q profit falls 7 per cent from a year earlier as bank wades through legal problems

Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

In this photo provided by the Robin Hood Foundation, Jamie Dimon, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of JP Morgan Chase & Co., speaks at the inaugural Robin Hood Investors Conference in New York, Friday, Nov. 22, 2013. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reports quarterly financial results before the market opens on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014. (AP Photo/Robin Hood Foundation, Craig Warga)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - JPMorgan Chase said Tuesday that its profits fell 7 per cent in the fourth quarter, hampered by more legal woes.

The bank had net income of $5.28 billion in the last three months of 2013, compared with a profit of $5.69 billion in the same period a year earlier.

On a per-share basis, JPMorgan said it earned $1.30 a share in the quarter, compared with $1.39 a share a year earlier. The bank's revenue fell 1 per cent to $24.1 billion.

The bank's quarterly results had several one-time items, including a 27-cent-per-share charge related to legal expenses. On an adjusted basis, the bank said it earned $1.40 per share.

One of those legal expenses was the settlement over the bank's involvement in the Ponzi scheme of Bernard Madoff. The bank agreed Jan. 8 to pay $1.7 billion to settle criminal charges stemming from its failure to report its concerns about Madoff's private investment service.

"It was in the best interests of our company and shareholders for us to accept responsibility, resolve these issues and move forward," JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said in a statement.

JPMorgan's legal problems have weighed on the bank's earnings. The bank posted a third-quarter loss in October, its first quarterly loss in 10 years.