Marina Hoffman Norville, a spokeswoman for the US banking group and a leading issuer of credit cards, said it was taking a USD 313 million charge in its fourth-quarter accounts to cover the severance costs of the layoffs, which amount to about six per cent of its global staff.
American Express reported a 15 per cent increase in earnings per share, to USD 1.39, in its fourth quarter, on a seven per cent rise in total revenues to USD 9.1 billion.
"Solid results this quarter reflected the underlying themes that have characterized our performance throughout 2014: higher card member spending, increased loan balances, tight control of operating expenses and a substantial return of capital to shareholders through share repurchases," said Kenneth Chenault, chairman and chief executive.