Bank of America barely stays profitable

NEW YORK - Bank of America, stung by a $5.3 billion mortgage-related writedown, reported a steep drop in quarterly results Tuesday that fell short of expectations.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based company said its net income plunged 95 percent to $268 million, or 5 cents a share, from $5.26 billion, or $1.16 a share, a year earlier.

Revenue fell 31 percent to $12.67 billion from $18.48 billion in the 2006 period.

The results, which included the company's purchase of LaSalle Bank, were much worse than analysts had anticipated. The company was expected to report a profit of 18 cents a share on revenue of $13.24 billion.

JPMorgan: Profit decline, $1.3B writedown

NEW YORK - JPMorgan Chase & Co., the second bank this week to post dismal results, reported a decline in quarterly earnings Wednesday after suffering a $1.3 billion subprime-related hit.

The company said net income fell 34 % to $3 billion, or 86 cents a share, during the fourth quarter. The company earned $4.5 billion, or $1.09 a share, in the same period last year.

JPMorgan Chase was expected to earn 93 cents a share for the quarter ended in December, according to analysts surveyed by earnings tracker Thomson Financial.

Revenue rose 7 percent to $17.4 billion from $16.2 billion in the year-earlier period, beating estimates of $17.05 billion.

The company also reported a $1.3 billion writedown in the company's investment banking arm, due to the decline in value of its subprime holdings, which include complex instruments known as collateralized debt obligations.

Chairman and Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said this segment of the business, which saw its profits plunge 88 percent in the quarter to $124 million from $1.01 billion a year ago, faces continuing uncertainty.

JPMorgan has weathered tightening credit conditions better than rivals Merrill Lynch (MER, Fortune 500) and Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), which posted a record $9.8 billion fourth-quarter loss Tuesday and took a giant $18.1 billion write-down.

Last quarter, JPMorgan reported a rise in profit, beating Wall Street estimates, even as its investment banking business was hurt by turmoil in the global credit markets.

Wells Fargo's earnings dip 38%

SAN FRANCISCO - Wells Fargo Inc., one of the nation's largest banks, said Wednesday that fourth-quarter earnings fell 38 %, hurt by a charge to cover fallout from the subprime loan crisis.

Net income fell to $1.36 billion, or 41 cents per share, in the October-December period from $2.18 billion, or 64 cents, a year ago. The latest quarter included $1.4 billion in losses on home equity loans in the fourth quarter, as borrowers in California and the Midwest struggle to make mortgage payments as many rates reset higher.

The charge was previously announced and is less than many of the bank's peers, at which similar writedowns are expected to total more than $65 billion in the quarter, as the subprime lending debacle guts balance sheets.

The company's non-performing loans rose to 0.7 % of total assets, an increase of 35 percent from last year.