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NEW YORK — JPMorgan Chase & Co. began the year with a
healthy gain in auto loan originations during the first quarter.

Along with its overall financial statement, the company reported
its first-quarter auto loan origination total came in at $5.8 billion,
representing a 21-percent spike from the same quarter in 2011.

The figure also marked an 18-percent jump from Chase's
fourth-quarter auto loan origination amount, which was $4.9 billion.

In other company news associated with auto-lending activity,
executives pointed out their 30-day delinquency rate halted a string of
increases during the first quarter.

The company's first-quarter rate settled at 0.79 percent,
the lowest level going back 12 months. At the first quarter of 2011, Chase's 30-day
auto delinquency rate stood at 0.97 percent and had climbed to 1.13 percent by
the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, Chase's net charge-off rate associated with auto
contracts improved during the first quarter, too.

The first-quarter rate dipped to 0.28 percent, dropping from
the year-ago reading of 0.40 percent and the fourth-quarter mark of 0.37
percent.

Overall First-Quarter Performance

While Chase's auto division strengthened its first-quarter
performance, the company's overall standing softened a bit during the first
quarter.

Executives tabulated that their first-quarter net income came
in at $5.4 billion, off from the year-ago figure of $5.6 billion. The sum
produced earnings per share of $1.31, off from $1.28 in the first quarter of
2011.

Reacting to the news, chairman and chief executive officer Jamie
Dimon said, "The firm reported strong revenue for the first quarter of 2012 of
$27.4 billion, up 24 percent compared with the prior quarter and up 6 percent
compared with prior year. While several significant items affected our results,
overall, the firm's performance in the first quarter was solid.

"The firm's return on tangible common equity for the first
quarter of 2012 was 16 percent, compared with 11 percent in the prior quarter
and 18 percent in the prior year," Dimon continued.

"We are pleased that our results for the quarter reflected
positive credit trends for our consumer real estate and credit card portfolios,"
he continued. "Estimated losses declined for these portfolios, and we reduced
the related loan loss reserves by a total of $1.8 billion in the first quarter.

"However, with respect to our mortgage banking business, we
expect to see elevated levels of costs and losses associated with mortgage-related
issues for a while longer," Dimon went on to say. "Credit trends across our
wholesale portfolios were stable and continued to be strong."

Dimon also touched on Chase's balance sheet.

"We strengthened our fortress balance sheet, ending the
first quarter with a strong Basel I Tier 1 common ratio of 10.4 percent," he
explained. "We estimate that our Basel III Tier 1 common ratio was
approximately 8.4 percent at the end of the first quarter.

What Dimon insisted was a "strong balance sheet and earnings
power" allowed Chase's board to increase its annual dividend to $1.20 per share
and authorize a new $15 billion equity repurchase program.

"The company will constantly evaluate its best and highest
use of capital," Dimon pledged. "We will repurchase equity as deemed
appropriate relative to our organic growth, investment opportunities, capital
retention needs and the stock price.

"JPMorgan Chase positively impacts the lives of millions of
people and the communities in which they live," Dimon insisted. "We are serving
them each day, putting our resources and our voices to work on their behalf."

Chase highlighted some first-quarter achievements Dimon
referenced, including:

—Provided credit and raised capital of more than $445
billion for commercial and consumer clients.
—Provided more than $4 billion of credit to U.S. small businesses, up 35
percent compared with the prior year.
—Originated more than 200,000 mortgages in the first quarter.
—To help struggling homeowners, Chase has offered more than 1.3 million
mortgage modifications since 2009, and completed more than 490,000.

"As we look toward the future, we continue to build our
businesses by investing in infrastructure, systems, technology and new products,
and by adding bankers and offices around the world," Dimon shared.

"The strengths that are embedded in this company — our
people, client relationships, product capabilities, technology, global presence
and fortress balance sheet — provide us with a foundation that is rock solid
and an ability to thrive regardless of what the future brings," he concluded.