(Bloomberg) -- JPMorgan Chase & Co. expects a double-digit jump in investment-banking fees for the first quarter, while markets revenue could sink as much as 10%, according to Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum. 

Revenue from underwriting equity and debt and advising on deals could rise in the “low to mid teens” percentage-wise from the firm’s $1.65 billion haul a year ago, Barnum said Tuesday at a conference hosted by UBS Group AG. He cited momentum in mergers and acquisitions, a rally in equity markets and the need for refinancing as driving the performance.

“A world where Fed cuts are delayed a little bit I don’t fundamentally think changes the picture for the banking wallet,” Barnum said. “If you get a resurgence of inflation and a total reversal of the environment, and the Fed needs to get much more aggressive, then all bets are off, but that’s not what really anyone’s expecting right now.”

On the markets side, the expected drop from a year ago is relative to a “very strong prior year” that is “not particularly differentiated across asset classes,” Barnum said. JPMorgan traders brought in $8.38 billion in the first three months of 2023. 

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