NEW YORK, May 19 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) said

on Monday that it could earn more from interest payments this

year despite significant economic uncertainty.

Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum told investors

that net interest income -- the difference between what the bank

pays customers on deposits and earns from interest payments --

could rise by $1 billion this year.

Still, the biggest U.S. lender said it was too early to

change its NII outlook of $94.5 billion for the full year. It

also maintained its expense forecast for 2025 and said it was

asking managers to keep a lid on headcount.

The bank's shares were down about 1% in premarket

trading.

"The evolving tariff environment, combined with the

preexisting geopolitical tensions, adds significant uncertainty

into the economic outlook," Barnum told

shareholders and analysts gathered

at the bank's New York headquarters for an annual

presentation. "The combination of inflation and large fiscal

deficits may constrain the available policy responses in ways

that further increase the risk."

Separately, Barnum said that the bank is open to

acquisitions, or "inorganic growth," at a time when it is flush

with cash. The largest U.S. lender will be "appropriately

cautious" with any acquisitions because of the challenges of

integrating businesses, Barnum said.

Credit card repayments still remained high, but were likely

to "normalize" next year as consumers fall behind on payments,

Barnum said. The bank estimated its net charge-off rate, or the

percentage of credit card debt that will not be repaid, to be

between 3.6% and 3.9% for 2026.

That is higher than the 3.6% net charge-off rate the bank is

expecting for 2025.

Although trade negotiations have helped ease some

jitters, corporate executives remain wary about the economic

outlook, with JPMorgan ( JPM )

CEO Jamie Dimon

warning last week that a recession could not be ruled out.

Dimon could also be asked to share his views on the

widening fiscal deficits in the U.S., especially after Moody's

downgraded

the country's sovereign credit rating on Friday due to

concerns about its $36 trillion

debt pile

.

He has consistently expressed worries that the deficits

were not sustainable and could pose serious risks to the health

of the U.S. economy.

Several top executives

are set to join Dimon later in the day to outline the

bank's strategy during the investor presentation.

While investors are not expecting a surprise succession

announcement, they do expect that the company will showcase

potential successors

.

Dimon, 69, has run JPMorgan ( JPM ) for more than 19 years,

outlasting many other CEOs. He said at last year's investor day

that the succession timeline was "not five years anymore."

Troy Rohrbaugh and Doug Petno, the co-CEOs of JPMorgan's ( JPM )

commercial and investment bank, are candidates for the top job.

Marianne Lake, CEO of consumer and community banking, and Mary

Erdoes, CEO of asset and wealth management, are also in the

running.

(Reporting by Nupur Anand in New York and Niket Nishant in

Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Nick Zieminski)