JPMorgan reports 50% drop in quarterly profit

NEW YORK — JPMorgan Chase & Co. said Wednesday that problems with mortgages and other loans cut its own first-quarter profit in half.

JPMorgan said it strengthened its reserves for defaulting loans by $2.5 billion and lost $2.6 billion in value from its portfolio of loans, which include consumer loans, as well as loans used to finance leveraged buyouts. The bank's profit fell 50 percent to $2.37 billion, or 68 cents per share, on $16.9 billion in net revenue.

Wells Fargo & Co., the nation's fifth-largest bank, said its first-quarter profit fell a comparatively mild 11 percent to $2 billion due to $1.5 billion in loan write-offs and a $500 million provision for future loan losses.