JP Morgan sets aside $8.3bn to cover Covid-19 losses

Wall Street bank earmarks sum to cover credit cards and oil and gas sector losses

JP Morgan, Wall Street's biggest bank, has put aside $8.3bn (6.6bn) to cover potential loan losses as it braces itself for a "fairly severe recession" caused by the Covid-19 outbreak.

The provision - much of which is earmarked to cover consumer credit card debts - is the biggest sum put aside for credit losses since the financial crisis in 2009. It resulted in JP Morgan's earnings for the first three months of the year plunging 69% to $2.9bn compared with $9.2bn a year earlier.