JP Morgan defies crisis to post doubled profits

US banking giant JP Morgan Chase kicked off a bumper results season for Wall Street titans today after more than doubling profits in 2009.

The figures revealed pay, bonuses and benefits across the bank as a whole rose 18% to $26.9bn (€18.7bn).

JP Morgan – one of the strongest banks through the crisis – posted net income of $11.7bn (€8.1bn) for the year – up from $5.6bn (€3.9bn).

The performance comes a day after President Obama launched plans to claw back $90bn (€62.6bn) for the US taxpayers over 10 years in return for support given during the financial crisis.