MASSIVE LAYOFFS. New York City Police office at the entrance to the JP Morgan Chase World Headquarters on Park Avenue in this July 13, 2012 file photo in New York. AFP PHOTO/TIMOTHY A. CLARY

NEW YORK, USA - US banking giant JPMorgan Chase plans to axe up to 19,000 jobs by the end of 2014 as it seeks to rein in costs, the company said in an investor presentation on Tuesday, February 26.

JPMorgan Chase intends the majority of the cuts -- between 13,000 to 15,000 -- in the mortgage banking division, where the company spent $9.1 billion in 2012.

Another 3,000 to 4,000 jobs will be eliminated in the non-mortgage areas of its consumer and community banking division.

JPMorgan Chase estimated its full-year expenses will drop by $3 billion in 2014 from the 2012 level as the company seeks corporate and investment bank cost synergies, according to the presentation.

JPMorgan shares were down 0.5 percent in morning trade amid an overall rising market.

The Wall Street bank reported earnings of $21.3 billion in 2012, up from $19 billion a year earlier, but revenue that slightly missed market expectations.

The jump in profits came despite an embarrassing $6.2 billion trading loss stemming from a London trader nicknamed the London "whale."

The trading losses led to several resignations and reassignments and resulted in a lower 2012 take-home pay for JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon. - Rappler.com