Report: JPMorgan CEO Personally Involved in Multi-Billion Dollar Loss
- Posted on May 18, 2012 at 2:38pm by
Becket Adams
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JPMorgan is still reeling from its multi-billion “misstep.” The bank, the largest in the United States, said last Thursday that it had lost billions in the past six weeks in a trading portfolio designed to hedge against risks the company takes with its own money.
As it turns out, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon personally oversaw the trades that lead to the massive losses.
The Wall Street Journal’s Monica Langley tells the story:
On April 30, associates who were gathered in a conference room handed Mr. Dimon summaries and analyses of the losses. But there were no details about the trades themselves. “I want to see the positions!” he barked, throwing down the papers, according to attendees. “Now! I want to see everything!”
Dimon, who usually oversees the trades pretty closely, failed to follow up on how these particular trades were being executed. He couldn’t believe his eyes when saw the numbers. In fact, he “couldn’t breathe,” according to the WSJ report.
And in case you were wondering just how much JPMorgan lost in bad trades, Langley has got you covered [emphasis added]: “Those trading positions have produced losses that could total as much as $5 billion…”
The Journal continues [emphasis added]:
Mr. Dimon personally approved the concept behind the disastrous trades, according to people familiar with the matter. But he didn’t monitor how they were executed, triggering some resentment among other business chiefs who say the activities of their units are routinely and vigorously scrutinized.
Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD), the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, says he plans to ask Dimon to testify before the committee about bank’s losses.
“The big lesson I learned: Don’t get complacent despite a successful track record,” Dimon said in an interview Wednesday. “No one or no unit can get a free pass.”
Click here to read the rest of the shocking Wall Street Journal report.
(H/T: Sam Ro Business Insider)
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Comments (40)
TemayElbor
Posted on May 19, 2012 at 5:29pm…”he (Dimon) couldn’t breathe…”
Was this real? Or good Hollywood acting?
Dimon (intentionally???) did NOT SUPERVISE THE EXECUTION OF A GOOD ECONOMIC CONCEPT by his subordinate that involves BILLIONS OF DOLLARS?
I see a pattern here…the first, maybe, three years in office…will work to show an “economic boom”
and once the trust of the person’s expertise is built and confirmed, then will work for an “economic bust”, will say later “I made a mistake” and then turn around to rake in big profits.
The next thing he will do, is go become a philanthropist, to make philanthropy a decoy of what truly happened.
With this case, Madoff looks small fry.
Report Post »jtm45
Posted on May 19, 2012 at 12:05pmJamie Diamon knows exactly where the 2-5 Billion is, same place John Corzines,in the pocket!
Report Post »katrigory5
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 10:30pmObamas minions, executed by his very order to sabotage, so our dear Thug-In-Chief would have a popular target, Wall Street, to go after right here at election time! And my bet is they also got the money too.
Report Post »mr.goodvibe
Posted on May 19, 2012 at 12:41amHaving some issues there Kat?
Report Post »Rajabear1
Posted on May 19, 2012 at 12:46pm@katrigory5-I think you are on the right track. I believe it is something along those line myself. There are a couple of red flags that indicate as much and seems to follow the pattern we have become so familiar with since these commi criminals have stepped in office. It absolutely deserves some serious digging and I’m sure we would find once again that the administration has not only a hand in this, but chase is in cahoots with them and this is deliberate. Sadly, no one will follow up until after a bill has been passed or a new executive order is in place (if ever).
Report Post »katrigory5
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 10:28pmAdd your comments
Report Post »MAMMY_NUNN
Posted on May 19, 2012 at 2:04amIf you are trading on something that has no physical value then you deserve it
Report Post »but if it was something physical that has value then what was it ?
And why did it fail ?
katrigory5
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 10:27pmObamas minions executing his very orders to sabotage so our Thug In Chief could have a popular target, Wall Street, right here at his election time, to go after!
Report Post »standpat
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 7:13pmAnyone who thinks this was just bad business is an idiot, These people don’t make mistakes, this was planed and a few got real healthy, just gotta put up with a little BS .and a little bad PR and then they will cash their checks.. and this poor lady who lost her job ..more BS she retired, pick up her millions later…Come on people pull your head out…
Report Post »shorthanded12
Posted on May 19, 2012 at 2:50pmThis sounds like the back door dealings of George “Spooky Dude” Soros and Warren “another tax evader” Buffett…..Notice how the Corzine scandle has faded away by the media??? This will too. I would wager on that and surely not with J P Chase stock either…lol
Report Post »Want our country back
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 7:10pm2Billion dollars screw-up and they are called on the carpet…. are they called up when they they get record profits….. as far as I know it’s their money….. if the shareholders aren’t happy with the executives, they will take care of it at a shareholders meeting….
Report Post »JEANNIEMAC
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 5:59pmTwo years ago, in order to build a reserve, Dimon cut common stock dividends to a nickel a share. Thousands of shareholders who depended on their dividends were left hanging. For coming up with this brilliant idea to pick the pockets of the shareholders, Dimon added insult to injury by giving himself a sixteen million dollar bonus. $16,000,000.00.
Report Post »Now this debacle. He should be fired, and fined.
Watchingtheweasels
Posted on May 20, 2012 at 8:03amUnfortunately, JeannieMac, that’s not how it works. Once you reach a certain level in a publically held corporation in America your screw ups are rewarded with a winning lottery ticket, not a pink slip…
Report Post »republic2011
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 5:56pm“In economic theory, a moral hazard is a situation where there is a tendency to take undue risks because the costs are not borne by the party taking the risk.” These guys like Dimon.. they are not any smarter than the average Joe, but they are well connected and they have their behinds covered by the Federal government. This has been going on for years and while they make these huge mistakes, the government covers their losses and even pays them the bonuses that they would have gotten had their failed bet succeeded WITH TAXPAYER DOLLARS. We need to run these people out of town and put them and the politicians up on charges that have aided them in this. This is grand theft, plain and simple. And, when the economy tanks because of what these slimy bastards have done, they will be unaffected.. while the rest of us struggle to survive.
Report Post »spirited
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 5:45pmDirty ba$tard.
Report Post »eramthgin
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 5:37pmIt is none of the governments business. It was private company funds and yes they lost two billion but earned another four billion. If I lose a thousand dollars on my stocks are they going to investigate me and right laws to protect me from myself? No RISK no REWARD. Some of these people have forgotten the lessons taught to most of us as cildren.
Report Post »TEARS FOR AMERICA
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 5:01pmAll these high ups involved with “billions” that went poof is just fishy if you ask me…
Report Post »Want our country back
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 7:13pmThinking the same way but didn’t know how to say it so it made sense…. since nothing makes sense these days…. everything is upside down….
Report Post »mr.goodvibe
Posted on May 19, 2012 at 12:40amWonder whos bank account just got flush with cash.
Report Post »EP46
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 4:30pmHow about this…………..about a week or so ago Eric Holder was critized because he has NOT filed cases against his Wall Street buddies. Holder and his friends that he brought to the Justice Dept came from Walll Street and WS banks. A few have already quit Justice and gone back to Wall Street. HOLDER needed someone to pick on…..they always pick on the ‘best’…..so JPMorgan gets ‘chosen’.
Newsweek reported that financial fraud prosecutions are at a 20-year low under President Obama.
Guess Jamie Dimon is going to get the Chicago treatment.
Report Post »elosogrande
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 3:54pmLosing $5 billion is not the big a deal for these guys -5% maybe? It’s only a problem when a bank, abusiness, or a pension fund want the Taxpayers to make good on bad investments or, in the case of many union pension funds, theft. These jokers should not have the cushion of being able to be made whole with someone else’s money.
Unions are a good case in point. Member elect dirt bags to represent them, because they think – “Man, this guy is tough! He’ll force my employer to pay throughh the nose and take care of me. I’m going to vote for him.” Later on, the elected dirt bag and his friends either piss away or steal the pension fund, and the union members think it’s up to me to pick up the tab, and support them for the rest of their lives.
I believe it’s time to tell these guys, the banks, and big corporations that it’s over.
Report Post »Pension fund problems are your problems and yours alone. Lose your rear end? Go back to work – START OVER!
moreteaplease
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 3:24pmNot to worry, the Fed has a limitless supply of bail-out bucks…just hold out your cup.
Report Post »Mark0331
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 3:15pmBuy the ticket, take the ride……everything is a bet….. everything.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 3:54pmI bet… it’s not :)
Report Post »Mark0331
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 4:57pm@Lukerw….nice, well played…;-)
Report Post »hauschild
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 3:09pmNewsflash to the central planners – businesses DO lose money sometimes. Lick yer wounds and move on.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 3:56pmThe lose… POTENTIAL… Profit :)
Report Post »drphil69
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 3:08pmWell I understand the USPS loses about a billion a month… where is the investigation into them? Oh, right… they are already run by the FEDS, so no worries there!
John Galt returns!
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 4:00pmPrivatized, you know… but Too Important to Fail! We just need a Benjamin Franklin to run it!
Report Post »Clmsadjman
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 3:05pmObama lost 5 Trillion in the last 3.5 years makes 5 billion look like lunch money. These banks never learn they were trading in derivatives loaded with all that crappy euro government debt how stupid is that? That stuff is going to be worth less than a soft absorbant toilet paper shortly. How come a CEO can lose 5 billlion of the banks money and Obama can piss away 5 Trillion and not go to jail. Obama talks about more bank regulation screw that we need more regulation on the government they seem to be the problem here not Chase in the economies of scale we are talking about.
Report Post »Thors Hammer
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 3:04pmSo why, then, did a woman get ‘thrown under the bus’? Scapegoat? Something truly stinks.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 4:03pmShe did not Consult with Dimon upon the Big Derivatives… which only Dimon understands the Risk!
Report Post »Azurite
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 3:02pmThis Dimon (demon?) guy is just covering his behind. If he looks like he is upset it makes him look like he was on the outside of this and it gives him cover so he can’t be attacked. This is why Bob Beckel is on the Five, so they cannot be called ‘unfair’ or biased by the left. This is why the token Hasselbeck is put the The View. These are token opposistion that act as insurance policys. Everyone has learned to do this now. Why is GB not a birther.? Has he been Breitbarted? The same tactics used by Clintons. Kill someone’s pet and send them a message?
Report Post »Snaker
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 2:59pmOKAY! I CONFESS! IT’S MY FAULT!
I paid off my mortgage early to Chase and cost the company GA-zillions in unpaid interest!
Now I’m debt-free and the company is FAILING!!!! Who would-a thunk it???
I was just kidding about the ga-zillions part…
Report Post »Ya take the “ride” ya take the “risk.”
Capitalism — it’s all about winners (and sometimes) losers…
Individualism
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 2:53pmdon’t give the rats a bailout, let them fail
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 3:53pmBuy your Cars with Cash from under the Mattress… do you?
Report Post »Individualism
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 5:54pmtry local banks and credit unions, close your account and put it there and the bankers will learn their lesson.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 2:53pmThis “trading” is about Derivatives… which Alan Greenspan said: I do not understand the Formulas and how they are suppose to work! Obviously, Dimon is the Smartest guy on Earth… and used the Derivatives, risky as best, as a Hedge against other Risks.
Whom is the Chief Idiot in the Room?
Report Post »pscully17
Posted on May 18, 2012 at 2:49pmso what? thats the nature of risk taking for high reward… and the GOVERNMENT/CONGRESS are the last people on earth to lecture, or degrade private banking officials, that routinely are making great business decions and increases the wealth of their investors/clients!!! so he lost on a small bet this time… the bank is still making 100s of billions of dollars. WE dont need Congress to meddle in these transactions.
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