What JPMorgan's Loan Loss Provision Says About the Current Recession

There has been a lot of talk about how the current economic recession could end up being much worse than the Great Recession of 2008-09. But other than looking at GDP and unemployment estimates, it may be hard to picture that. After all, aren't some analysts and government officials predicting that the coronavirus recession will be much shorter than the Great Recession? Aren't the banks in much better shape now? And didn't the housing market collapse in 2008?

The answer to all of those questions is yes. But the severity of the coronavirus pandemic has hit much harder and much faster than anyone could have anticipated. That's because social distancing measures put into place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have essentially shut down the economy. Even stores and industries such as the airlines that still operate aren't able to generate the same amount of revenue right now compared to normal times. While it is hard to compare the Great Recession to what is going on now, you can get a better sense of how the two stack up by looking at a key metric on JPMorgan Chase's (NYSE: JPM) financial statements.

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Source Fool.com