JPMorgan, mortgages drag down third-quarter U.S. bank profits

Huge legal costs at JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM) and slowing demand for mortgages as interest rates rose caused the first decline in bank profits since 2009, a third-quarter regulatory update said on Tuesday. Higher interest rates lowered the value of fixed income assets and sapped demand for mortgage refinancing, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said. A $4 billion increase in litigation expenses at one institution - not named by the FDIC but identified as JPMorgan by a source - was the main reason why net income at U.S. banks declined 3.9 percent year-on-year.

via Business News - Yahoo Finance http://finance.yahoo.com/news/jpmorgan-mortgages-drag-down-third-174632620.html