Bank One Corp. said it expects higher nonperforming commercial loans and loan losses, combined with weaker economic conditions, to drive up chargeoffs this year.
The countrys fourth-largest banking company said in its annual report, filed Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, that management currently anticipates that commercial credit losses for the next several quarters will at least double that of the approximately 40 basis points experienced in the last several years. Analysts said the market had already factored in these expectations based on the companys past performance and the credit-quality problems that have plagued its peers. Bank One shares rose 2.45%, to $35.95, on a solid day for bank stocks.
New management under the leadership of president and chief executive James Dimon has moved aggressively to clean up the banks commercial loan portfolio and other troubled segments, including its credit card division.
The filing is nothing new on the commercial credit-quality front, said Lori Applebaum, an analyst at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Last year the Chicago banking company announced that it would take several million dollars of charges to cover higher loan-loss reserves. These provisions were expected to cover further deterioration in its loan portfolio.
The company has already experienced a quarter when the net chargeoff ratio in its commercial loan portfolio was much higher than average: In the fourth quarter Bank One increased its loan-loss reserves by $1 billion, which contributed to a $512 million loss for the period.
