The Executive

After a year dominated by a trading debacle in its London office, JPMorgan said there were further “modest” losses from unwinding credit derivatives positions that have so far cost the bank $5.8bn.

But it was the simpler business of writing mortgages that helped the bank report its record profits as ultralow interest rates, spurred on in September by the Federal Reserve’s bond-buying programme, tempted homeowners to refinance existing loans or take out new ones.