3 Major Banks Post Mixed Results for 1990

Three of the nation’s biggest banking companies on Monday reported profits for the fourth quarter of 1990 but showed a mixed performance for the year.

Chase Manhattan Corp., First Chicago Corp. and J. P. Morgan & Co. all said problems with commercial real estate loans and the weak economy adversely affected earnings.

J.P. Morgan & Co.--Morgan, the nation’s fifth-largest banking company, was the healthiest of the group, reporting a fourth-quarter profit of $191 million, a 24% increase over the 1989 figure of $154 million.

For the year, Morgan reported $1 billion in profit, which banking analysts consider exceptional in the face of rising debts from commercial real estate loans that have haunted the industry.

Chase Manhattan--Chase Manhattan, the nation’s third-largest bank holding company, reported a 10.3% gain in fourth-quarter 1990 earnings but a $334-million loss for the year.

For the three months ended Dec. 31, Chase said it earned $193 million, compared to $175 million a year earlier.

The $334-million loss for the entire year compares to a 1989 loss of $665 million.

First Chicago Corp.--First Chicago reported a fourth-quarter profit of $57.1 million, a 54% drop from earnings of $122.9 million in the same period last year.

For the year, it reported a profit of $249.3 million, a 31% drop from the $358.7 million reported in 1989.