Home is where the profit is.
Mortgage lending drove bank giants JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo to record quarterly profits as an improved housing market and government stimulus spurred a wave of mortgage refinancing.
JPMorgan’s third-quarter profit rose 34 percent to $5.7 billion — an all-time record for the bank. Per-share earnings were $1.40 a share, outstripping most analysts estimates by 20 cents. Revenue rose 6 percent to $25.9 billion.
The bank, run by outspoken CEO Jamie Dimon, saw strength across a broad swath of its businesses, with the surge in home loans leading the way.
“We believe the housing market has turned the corner,” Dimon said.
The results helped Dimon put $5.8 billion in “London Whale” trading losses behind it. The embarrassing trading blunder forced Ina Drew, the head of the Chief Investment Office and once one of the bank’s most respected executives, to step down.
JPMorgan originated $47.3 billion in home loans in the quarter, up 29 percent from a year ago and up 8 percent from the second quarter.
Mortgages were also a big bright spot for Wells Fargo, which originating a whopping $139 billion in loans, up 7 percent from the prior quarter.
The San Francisco-based bank, led by CEO John Stumpf, reported its own record profit of $4.94 billion, or 88 cents a share, up 22 percent from a year ago.
Combined, the pair account for 41 percent, or about $186 billion, of the $450 billion in mortgages originated in the third quarter, based on estimates from trade publication Inside Mortgage Finance.
mark.decambre@nypost.com