JP Morgan losses soar to £2.8bn
The losses racked up by disastrous trades at the London office of America’s biggest bank have more than doubled to £2.8bn (€3.5bn), it emerged today.
JP Morgan Chase said a series of botched bets designed to hedge against other investments had created losses of $4.4bn, much higher than its previous estimate of $2bn.
The bank today revealed that three senior traders associated with the losses - believed to be one known as The London Whale and two other senior managers in London – have followed chief investment officer Ina Drew out the door.
The trades contributed to a $400m fall in second quarter net income to $5bn at the bank today.
And the bank revised down its earnings for the first quarter by $459m amid claims some of its traders may have been trying to hide the full extent of the losses.
The London Whale has been widely reported to be French-born Bruno Iksil, who gained his nickname because of the size of the positions he took.
He was understood to be one of the best paid traders in the City and commuted to London from Paris on a weekly basis.
Insiders at JP Morgan Chase have stressed that he is not a rogue trader, but one of a team whose strategy went wrong.
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