January 14, 2011, 7:16 am

JPMorgan’s Quarterly Profit Rises 47% to $4.8 Billion

By BEN PROTESS and ERIC DASH

JPMorgan Chase kicked off the earnings season on Friday with news that it turned a strong $17.4 billion profit in 2010, up 48 percent from $11.7 billion the year before, as the consumer lending environment improved and commercial banking notched record results.

The rosy report could pave the way for JPMorgan to increase its dividend by as much as a dollar. Wall Street has been anxiously awaiting JPMorgan’s earnings, hoping it will signal that 2011 will be the year plump shareholder payouts return.

“We do think dividend increases are in the cards for some,â€