JPMorgan slashes dividend

JPMorgan said its decision to lower its quarterly dividend to 5 cents per share from 38 cents will save 5 billion of common equity a year. It hopes the lowered payout will help it pay back the 25 billion of capital it got in October from the government8217;s Troubled Asset Relief Program faster.

8220;Extraordinary times must call for extraordinary measures,8221; Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said on a conference call. He said JPMorgan was 8220;not asked by anybody8221; to cut the payout,but did so out of a 8220;normal abundance of caution.8221;

Shares of JPMorgan,a Dow Jones industrial average component,rose 1.08 to 20.59 after-hours,after falling 39 cents during regular trading. The New York-based lender announced the dividend cut after US markets closed.

8220;I will accept a lower dividend if they are able to repay the government faster,8221; said Chris Armbruster,senior analyst at Al Frank Asset Management in Laguna Beach,California,which owns JPMorgan shares. 8220;The sooner they get out from that,the better.8221;

JPMorgan expects in the first quarter to record about 2 billion of credit costs and writedowns at its investment bank,to boost reserves for credit cards and home lending,and to write down about 400 million in private banking.

It also said earnings expectations are 8220;on track8221; from its September purchase of the banking units of failed lender Washington Mutual Inc.

Analysts,on average,expected JPMorgan to post a quarterly profit of 35 cents per share on revenue of 21.96 billion,according to Reuters Estimates.