Instant view: JPMorgan posts higher earnings

NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co posted an increase in first-quarter earnings, as it set aside less money to cover bad loans.

COMMENTARY

MATT MCCORMICK, PORTFOLIO MANAGER AT CINCINNATI-BASED BAHL & GAYNOR INVESTMENT COUNSEL

"Nice beat on both the earnings and the revenue side, they even managed to match the whisper number of $1.28. But the market's reaction to the release is that the bar was set pretty high. JPMorgan Chase results, though strong, were not enough to satisfy the hungry beast.

"I can almost hear Jamie Dimon saying, 'What more do I have to do?' JPMorgan is kind of viewed as the bellwether of the industry, Jamie Dimon is the fair-haired boy, one of the clear stars of the banking industry ... I think the expectations were fairly high, they were expecting him to come in with a big, big number and it wasn't enough. ... I would have thought it would have been better received."

ADRIAN CRONJE, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER AT ATLANTA-BASED BALENTINE, A WEALTH MANAGEMENT FIRM MANAGING $600 MILLION IN ASSETS.

"The numbers are not too surprising and a little disappointing. The key is loan growth, and for a deleveraging economy it's important that bellwether banks like JPMorgan begin to show signs credit is expanding to the private sector. That's what will ultimately turn this recovery into a durable expansion, but it seems like that's not yet happening."

(Reporting by Maria Aspan and Joe Rauch, compiled by Tiffany Wu)