JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs have seen mixed results from their investment businesses.
JPMorgan reported an 8% fall in Q2 2014 profits after declines in its securities trading business.
Net income in the three months to the end of June was $6 billion – a fall of $500 million compared with a year earlier.
However, Goldman Sachs saw a 5% profit rise after higher revenues from its investing and lending business.
The bank earned $1.95 billion in the three months to June 30, up from $1.86 billion in the same period a year earlier.
JPMorgan, the biggest US bank in terms of assets, saw net income from its corporate and investment business drop by $800 million to $2 billion, a fall of 31%.
A decline in bonds and currencies trading by big institutions hit revenue in the bank’s securities trading business.
Nevertheless, the bank said it had seen a “strong performance” in overall investment bank fees.
Its results beat market expectations and JPMorgan shares rose 3% to $57.96 in premarket trading on Tuesday.
JPMorgan’s mortgage business also declined in the quarter, with mortgage lending down 38% to $709m. Mortgage application volumes dropped 54% to $30.1 billion.
US mortgage lending volumes have slowed as mortgage rates have risen. Last week, the largest US mortgage lender, Wells Fargo, reported a 39% drop in mortgage revenue in the second quarter.
Goldman Sachs revenues from currency and commodity trading were down 10% to $2.22 billion, but the firm’s investment business was buoyed by mergers and acquisitions, and equity underwriting.
Goldman Sachs saw net revenue in its investing and lending division jump 46% to $2.07 billion, including net gains of $1.25 billion from investments in equities.
