NEW YORK (AFP) Ã¢â‚¬â€œ US banking giant JPMorgan Chase on Thursday announced a net profit of 4.8 billion dollars in the second quarter, up nearly 80 percent from the same period last year.

Reporting solid performance across most business areas, the New York-based bank’s profits included 1.5 billion dollars that had been set aside to cover bad loans.

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“We continue to aggressively do all that we can reasonably and responsibly to contribute to the economic recovery,” said CEO Jamie Dimon.

Earnings were “partially offset by a charge of 550 million dollars for the UK bonus tax,” said Dimon, adding that upcoming US financial reform also posed potential pitfalls for the firm.

“Many challenges and uncertainties remain which may result in unintended consequences for our clients, the markets and our businesses,” he said.

“Increased focus is critical in order to implement these reforms in a way that protects consumers and the competitiveness of the US financial system.”

JPMorgan is the first large US bank to report second quarter earnings.

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The announcement sent shares in the firm almost one percent higher in pre-opening trades.

But it was not all good news from the bank, which reported profits were down in its investment banking business.

That loss was more than offset by a surge in retail financial services, which saw a net profit of one billion dollars, versus 15 million dollars in the same period last year.

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The bank took a 25 billion dollar bailout from the US government at the height of the financial crisis.

It has since repaid that sum, and last year saw its profits double for the full year to 11.7 billion dollars.