The unemployment rate may in double digits and foreclosures may be on the rise, but over at JPMorgan Chase life is good.

To hear Jamie Dimon, chairman and chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, tell it, his bank could have done better last year, and he remains cautious about the coming year. And that after JPMorgan finished off 2009 with $11.7 billion in profits.

After borrowing $25 billion from the federal government in October 2008 to avoid fiscal calamity, the Wall Street institution paid back the money in June and doubled its earnings last year, which featured a $3.3 billion profit in the fourth quarter alone.

Employees are expected to receive almost $27 billion in bonuses and compensation, an 18% jump from 2008. The average bonus will be about $129,000, while executives and other “top earners” will take home multimillion-dollar paychecks.

Related
JPMorgan Chase Earns $11.7 Billion in Year (by Eric Dash, New York Times)

Source: All Gov.com, January 16, 2010
By: Noel Brinkerhoff