New York - JP Morgan Chase reported a better-than-expected first quarter profit on Thursday, the third major US bank to do so.

Figures showed the New York-based bank recorded a profit of 2.1 billion dollars in the first three months of 2009.

Although profits were down 10 per cent from the first quarter of the previous year, they were still better than analysts' expectations of 1.38 billion dollars.

JPMorgan Chase is one of the few major US banks to remain in the black throughout the financial crisis.

Investors saw the latest figures as an indication the US financial sector might be on the threshold of recovery after months of negative results.

JPMorgan Chase's revenues soared 50 per cent to a record 26.9 billion dollars.

Chief executive Jamie Dimon said the bank's levels of capital and reserves "enable us to withstand an even worse economic scenario than we face today."

The good figures come on the heels of better-than-expected results for Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs, which both posted profits of more than 1 billion dollars.

Citigroup, one of the biggest losers of the financial crisis so far, is expected to post a big loss when it releases its results on Friday.