In explaining the 2Q headcount boost on Friday, JPM executives pointed to"higher compensation, including front-office hiring and technology investments" as part of the reason behind a 12% expense increase in commercial banking from last year.
To be sure, compensation expenses are down slightly from last quarter but are still up by 9% from last year.for some time amid rising interest rates and supply chain issues exacerbated by the war in Ukraine. On Friday, he said consumer spending remains strong. "We're trying to be really clear here: The consumer is in good shape. They're spending down the excess cash," he said, according to the call and a transcript by AlphaSense."Even when we go into recession, we're going with rather good conditions, low borrowings and good house price values still," he said before adding that the economy is also dealing with the"unprecedented" challenges, from the war in Ukraine to high levels of government debt.
The bank reported record second-quarter earnings boosted by higher interest rates, which increased what they could charge on credit cards and other loans. Excluding First Republic, the bank brought in revenue of $38.4 billion, up 21% year-on-year.