US financial services firm JPMorgan Chase has
reported its Q3 card division results, with net income now standing
at $735 million, compared with a loss of $700 million at the same
point last year.

Chase claims the improved results were driven
by a lower provision for credit losses and is partially offset by
lower net revenue which currently stands at $4.3 billion, a
decrease of $29.1 billion, or 17 percent, from Q3 2009.

The decrease in net revenue is said to be due
to lower average loan balances, the impact of legislative changes
and a decreased level of fees.

“Card Services increased sales volume by 7
percent compared with the prior year, and positive credit trends
assisted in delivering improved results,” said Jamie Dimon,
chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase.

“Delinquencies and net charge-offs continued
to improve, and we reduced loan loss reserves by $1.5 billion this
quarter as estimated losses declined. We expect credit card net
charge offs to continue to improve next quarter.”

Figures show the provision for credit losses
was $1.6 billion, compared with $5 billion at the same time last
year and $2.2 billion in the prior quarter. The net charge-off rate
was 8.87 percent, down from 10.3 percent in Q3 2009 and 10.2
percent in Q2 this year.

Chase revealed its sales volume also increased
by 7 percent to $79.6 billion and 2.7 million new accounts were
opened. Merchant processing volume was $117 billion on 5.2 billion
total transactions processed.