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Basis of Presentation
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Basis of presentation
Basis of presentation
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (“JPMorgan Chase” or the “Firm”), a financial holding company incorporated under Delaware law in 1968, is a leading global financial services firm and one of the largest banking institutions in the United States of America (“U.S.”), with operations worldwide. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small business, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management. For a discussion of the Firm’s business segments, see Note 24.
The accounting and financial reporting policies of JPMorgan Chase and its subsidiaries conform to accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (“U.S. GAAP”). Additionally, where applicable, the policies conform to the accounting and reporting guidelines prescribed by regulatory authorities.
The unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements prepared in conformity with U.S. GAAP require management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expense, and the disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities. Actual results could be different from these estimates. In the opinion of management, all normal, recurring adjustments have been included for a fair statement of this interim financial information.
These unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with the audited Consolidated Financial Statements, and related notes thereto, included in JPMorgan Chase’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “2014 Annual Report”).
Certain amounts reported in prior periods have been reclassified to conform with the current presentation.
Investments in qualified affordable housing projects
Effective January 1, 2015, the Firm adopted new accounting guidance for investments in affordable housing projects that qualify for the low-income housing tax credit, which impacted the Corporate & Investment Bank (“CIB”). As a result of the adoption of this new guidance, the Firm made an accounting policy election to amortize the initial cost of its qualifying investments in proportion to the tax credits and other benefits received, and to present the amortization as a component of income tax expense (previously such amounts were predominantly presented in other income). The guidance was required to be applied retrospectively and accordingly, certain prior period amounts have been revised to conform with the current period presentation. The cumulative effect on retained earnings was a reduction of $321 million as of January 1, 2014. The adoption of this accounting guidance resulted in an increase of $222 million and $227 million in other income and income tax expense, respectively, which led to an increase of approximately 2% in the effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2014. The impact on net income and earnings per share in prior periods was not material.
The Firm recognized $377 million and $379 million of tax credits and other tax benefits associated with these investments within Income tax expense for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. The amount of amortization of such investments reported in income tax expense under the current period presentation was $274 million and $264 million, for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.
The carrying value of investments in affordable housing projects was $7.1 billion and $7.3 billion at March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively. These investments are reported in other assets on the Firm’s Consolidated balance sheets. The amount of commitments related to these investments was $1.7 billion and $1.8 billion at both March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014. These commitments are reported in accounts payable and other liabilities on the Firm’s Consolidated balance sheets.
Offsetting assets and liabilities
U.S. GAAP permits entities to present derivative receivables and derivative payables with the same counterparty and the related cash collateral receivables and payables on a net basis on the balance sheet when a legally enforceable master netting agreement exists. U.S. GAAP also permits securities sold and purchased under repurchase agreements to be presented net when specified conditions are met, including the existence of a legally enforceable master netting agreement. The Firm has elected to net such balances when the specified conditions are met. For further information on offsetting assets and liabilities, see Note 1 of JPMorgan Chase’s 2014 Annual Report.