JPM Gold Record: $1 Billion in Precious Metals Revenue

EDITOR NOTE: More news on JP Morgan, but this time it has nothing to do with illicit activity (at least, there’s no indication of it). It’s about smart thinking, or rather, not having myopic vision. JP Morgan outperformed all other banks, earning a record $1 billion in revenue investing in gold (and facilitating gold transactions for clients). Apparently, JPM saw a clear horizon in a way that most other banks failed. The same can be said of gold investors who saw the last few years as a lengthy period of opportunity to accumulate the metal. Here’s a hint: it ain’t over yet.

JPMorgan has earned record revenue of around $1 billion so far this year from trading, storing and financing precious metals, vastly outperforming rival banks, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The coronavirus has created a bonanza for investment banks dealing in gold, silver and other precious metals by triggering massive investor purchases and rupturing the normal workings of the market.

But JPMorgan has dominated, growing its share of the market.

The U.S. bank’s revenue by mid-November accounts for at least half of the $1.7 billion to $2 billion that consultancy McKinsey CIB Insights estimates the top 10 investment banks combined will make this year from precious metals, mostly gold.

Its commodities division is on track to bring in more than $1.5 billion this year and could challenge Goldman Sachs for the title of top earner, the sources said.

JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

Individual investment banks have rarely made more than $1 billion in commodities in recent years, and none has ever before earned more than around $600 million in precious metals in a single year, said George Kuznetsov at McKinsey CIB Insights.

(For a graphic on Commodities bonanza, click )

JPMorgan is the largest bank in the United States and one of the biggest in the world.

It sits at the heart of the global bullion market, and its activities span trading physical bars to derivatives, running vaults and clearing trades in London, the biggest trade hub.

REVENUE WINDFALL

Driving profit has been the clamour for gold and silver from investors, mainly in Europe and North America, worried the coronavirus pandemic and money-printing by central banks could devalue other assets.

These investors pushed gold prices to record highs above $2,000 an ounce earlier this year.

Added to that are profits earned on the Comex futures exchange in New York, where supply issues earlier this year made it more lucrative for those with access to physical gold to trade precious metals.