J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. reported that its first quarter net income dropped in half to $2.4 billion, compared with record net income of $4.8 billion in the first quarter of 2007.

The investment banking division was hit hardest as it saw a net loss of $87 million, down from record net income of $1.5 billion in the prior year. The lower results reflected a decline in net revenue and a higher provision for credit losses offset partially by lower non-interest expense. The provision for credit losses was $618 million, compared with $63 million in the prior year.

Net revenue was $3.0 billion, a decline of $3.2 billion, or 52%, from the prior year. Investment banking fees were $1.2 billion, down 30% from the prior year. Debt underwriting fees declined 58%, reflecting lower bond underwriting and loan syndication fees, but equity-underwriting fees were only down 9% from the prior year. Advisory fees were up slightly from the prior year. Fixed Income Markets revenue was down 82%, primarily due to markdowns of $1.2 billion on mortgages; markdowns of
$1.1 billion on leveraged lending commitments; and markdowns of $266 million on collateralized debt obligation warehouses and unsold positions.

Commenting on the quarter, Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of the firm, said, “Our earnings this quarter were down significantly as market conditions and the credit environment remained challenging. The investment bank had markdowns related to leveraged lending and mortgages and increased loan loss reserves. Retail financial services again increased loan loss reserves related to home equity and subprime mortgages, as performance in these portfolios continued to deteriorate. However, the firm as a whole maintained solid business momentum and our capital position remained strong.”

He added that retail financial services, card services, commercial banking and treasury & securities services all reported organic revenue growth and well-managed expense levels; it added $2.5 billion to its allowance for credit losses (which now totals $12.6 billion); and maintained a strong Tier 1 capital ratio of 8.3%.

Commenting on the recent agreement to acquire Bear Stearns, Dimon remarked, “The Bear Stearns merger provides a unique opportunity to enhance our ability to serve clients by adding new capabilities in prime brokerage and clearing and by improving strength in equities, mortgage trading, commodities and asset management. We welcome the employees of Bear Stearns and look forward to working together to build increased franchise value.”

Discussing the firm’s outlook, Dimon said, “Our expectation is for the economic environment to continue to be weak and for the capital markets to remain under stress. These factors have affected, and are likely to continue to negatively impact, our firm’s credit losses, overall business volumes and earnings — possibly through the remainder of the year, or longer. However, we are prepared to manage through this down part of the economic cycle, given the strength of our liquidity, credit reserves, capital and operating margins, and to successfully position our company well for the future.”