JPMorgan notches record quarter on merger flurry, $3-bn reserve release

JPMorgan released $3 billion in reserves it had previously set aside for bad loans, almost twice as much as analysts had predicted.

JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s investment bankers posted their best quarter ever as a record first half in dealmaking bolstered the bottom line.

Fees from advising on mergers and underwriting stocks and bonds soared 25% in the second quarter, smashing analysts’ estimates and boosting net income to $11.9 billion. The results mirrored similar gains at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which said its investment-banking revenue jumped 36%, also topping estimates.

The reports mark the banking industry’s first look into the economic reopening in the U.S. made possible by widespread vaccinations in recent months. Pandemic-induced volatility led to a string of banner quarters on Wall