JP Morgan more than doubles reported trading loss from $2bn to $4.4bn

'London Whale' trader is understood to have left bank's London office, and compensation has been collected from bankers

guardian.co.uk, Dominic Rushe in New York, Friday 13 July 2012

The losses at JP Morgan's London offices have caused a political firestorm
 in the US and led to calls for tighter regulation of Wall Street banks.
Photograph: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

The financial hit JP Morgan Chase incurred at the hands of the trader known as the "London Whale" was more than double that previously reported, with losses from the UK operation totalling $4.4bn, the bank admitted on Friday

The bank also revealed it had clawed back two years of annual compensation from those involved as it released its second quarter results, which pegged losses at its chief investment office (CIO) at $4.4bn, up from an initial estimate of $2bn.

It is understood that three traders at the heart of the office, including "London Whale" Bruno Iksil, have now left the bank's London operations.

The losses at JP Morgan's London offices have caused a political firestorm in the US and led to calls for tighter regulation of Wall Street banks. The bank held a two hour briefing with analysts Friday morning to allay fears about the losses.

"We have put most of this problem behind us and we can now focus our full energy on what we do best - serving our clients and communities around the world," JP Morgan chief executive officer Jamie Dimon said in a statement ahead of the meeting.

JP Morgan reported net income of $4.96bn, or $1.21 a share, compared with $5.43bn, or $1.27 a share, a year earlier.

It also cut its previously reported first-quarter earnings by $459m, or 8.5%, after reviewing information that "raises questions about the integrity" of the CIO's credit portfolio. Dimon said there more losses to come of between $800m and $1.6bn.

At the analysts meeting Dimon called the problem "isolated".

"At some point, I'd like people to actually focus on the underlying businesses … that's why we are here," he said.

Dimon initially dismissed reports about losses at the London operation as a "tempest in a teapot". The bank said today that it recently discovered information that suggests some individuals at the company may have tried to hide the full amount of the losses.

JP Morgan declined to name the executives whose compensation has been "clawed back". The most likely candidate for clawback would be Ina Drew, JP Morgan's chief investment officer, who oversaw the division responsible for the loss. Drew left the bank days after the disclosure of the losses. In 2011, her pay package totaled $15m.

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