JPMorgan profit surges 52% on robust consumer business

JPMorgan Chase & Co's profit climbed in the first quarter as higher interest rates boosted its consumer business and the biggest U.S. lender remained resilient through the banking crisis in March.

The lender's solid performance in the quarter underscores how big banks - with diversified businesses and trillions of dollars in assets - have withstood the crisis in part because they were required by regulators to hold more capital after the 2008 mortgage crisis.

Shares of JPMorgan rose 5% in premarket trading after the lender reported a 52% increase in profit to $12.62 billion, or $4.10 per share, in the three months ended Mar. 31.

Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said the U.S. consumer and economy remains healthy but cautioned that the banking crisis could turn lenders more conservative and may impact consumer spending.

"The storm clouds that we have been monitoring for the past year remain on the horizon, and the banking industry turmoil adds to these risks."

Revenue at the lender's consumer and community banking unit jumped 80% to $5.2 billion on the back of higher interest rates. The Federal Reserve raised rates by a quarter of a percentage point last month.

JPMorgan's net interest income, a measure of how much it earns from lending, surged 49% to $20.8 billion.

However, its Wall Street investment banking business remained a sore point. Revenue at the unit fell 24%, weighed down by a tepid market for mergers, acquisitions and stock sales. Equity trading revenue slid 12%. Fixed income trading revenue was flat.

Overall revenue jumped 25% jump to $38.3 billion