NEW YORK — As part of a record year for net income, JPMorgan Chase & Co., watched its fourth-quarter auto originations tick higher year-over-year.

The company recently reports its fourth-quarter auto originations totaled $4.9 billion, up 2 percent from the prior year period. However, Chase acknowledged the figure was down 17 percent from the prior quarter.

Chase's average auto loans amount stood at $46.9 billion at the close of the fourth quarter, a sum that was 3 percent lower than the prior year but 1 percent higher than the prior quarter.

Executives also mentioned their auto net charge-off rate settled at 0.37 percent in the fourth quarter, down from 0.58 percent in the prior year and up from 0.36 percent during the third quarter.

Chase's Overall Performance

JPMorgan Chase generated $3.7 billion in net income of for the fourth quarter compared with $4.8 billion for the fourth quarter of 2010. The company said earnings per share were 90 cents compared with $1.12 in the prior-year period.

However, the company highlighted full-year net income soared to a record $19.0 billion, compared with $17.4 billion for the prior year. Earnings per share came in at $4.48 compared with $3.96 for 2010.

JPMorgan Chase chairman and chief executive officer Jamie Dimon began his assessment of the company's performance by reiterating, "Every day, we put the firm's resources to work to help our customers, corporate clients and the communities where we do business.

"During 2011, the firm provided credit and raised capital of over $1.8 trillion for our commercial and consumer clients, up 18 percent from the prior year," he continued. "We provided more than $17 billion of credit to U.S. small businesses, up 52 percent over prior year. We raised capital or provided credit of $68 billion for more than 1,200 not-for-profit and government entities, including states, municipalities, hospitals and universities. We also provided new credit cards to 8.5 million people and originated more than 765,000 mortgages. In order to help struggling homeowners, the firm has offered more than 1.2 million mortgage modifications since 2009, of which 452,000 were completed."

Commenting on financial results, Dimon insisted, "The firm's returns on tangible common equity for the fourth quarter of 2011 and the full year 2011 were 11 percent and 15 percent, respectively. We believe these returns were reasonable given the environment, although the return for the fourth quarter was modestly disappointing.

"Several significant items affected the firm's fourth-quarter results, including a $567 million pretax DVA loss which reflected the tightening of the firm's credit spreads," Dimon acknowledged. "As we have consistently said, whether positive or negative, we do not consider DVA reflective of the underlying operations of the company."

Dimon moved on to other segments of JPMorgan Chase's portfolio.

"We were pleased that the Investment Bank continued to rank No. 1 in global investment banking fees for 2011," he emphasized "Consumer & Business Banking opened 260 new branches and increased deposits by 8 percent in 2011. In our card business, credit card sales volume was up 10 percent for 2011. Treasury & Securities Services reported record deposits, up 28 percent for 2011. Commercial banking reported record deposit balances, up 26 percent, and record net income for 2011."

Dimon added: "As the economy continues to recover, we are gratified to see signs of improvement in loan demand and credit quality. Commercial banking had its sixth consecutive quarter of loan growth, including a 17-percent increase in middle-market loans over the prior year. In Treasury & Securities Services, trade loans were up 73 percent over the prior year. Business banking loans were up 5 percent over the prior year reflecting a 24-percent increase in origination volume during 2011. Mortgage originations through the firm's retail channel were strong. Finally, the card business had continued loan growth in the fourth quarter as the Chase credit card portfolio ended the year with outstandings of $120.0 billion."

Dimon went on to say, "I am proud of the work our 260,000 employees have done this past year to continue the firm's 200-year tradition of showing leadership and responsibility during challenging times. JPMorgan Chase has a positive impact on the lives of millions of people and the communities in which they live. All of the firm's accomplishments and our success in the future rest on a foundation of capital strength and careful stewardship of the firm through this challenging economy and a new, complex regulatory environment. We are working hard to help our clients thrive, economies grow and communities prosper."