Three to Exit J.P. Morgan after Losses

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Three to Exit J.P. Morgan after Losses

 

May 13, 2012
Three high-ranking people are expected to leave J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. this week, said people familiar with the situation, in the latest fallout from a trading blunder that has cost the bank at least $2 billion.
The departures involve three of the highest-ranking executives with direct connections to the losses, according to the people familiar. Those leaving are Ina Drew, who since 2005 has run the risk-management unit that is responsible for the losses; Achilles Macris, who is in charge of the London-based desk that placed the trades; and trader Javier Martin-Artajo, a managing director on Mr. Macris' team, the people said.
Ms. Drew has offered to resign multiple times and that request will likely be accepted this week, these people said. She is expected to leave as soon as Monday, the people said.
Trader Bruno Michel Iksil, nicknamed the "London Whale" for the big positions he took in credit markets on behalf of the risk-management unit called the chief investment office, is likely to depart as well, but it isn't yet clear when that will happen, said people familiar with the situation. Mr. Macris, Mr. Martin-Artajo and Mr. Iksil have all been stripped of trading responsibilities, added one of these people. All four executives declined comment through the company.
The departures come as Chief Executive Officer James Dimon struggles to contain damage from the losses, which the nation's largest bank by assets disclosed late Thursday in a twist that stunned Wall Street. The disclosure of the trading missteps last week sent J.P. Morgan shares tumbling 9% in trading Friday, costing $14 billion in market capitalization.
Mr. Dimon has widely been seen as one of the financial industry's savviest risk managers and most hands-on chief executives, but he admitted in an appearance Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" that the loss is a "terrible, egregious mistake" that will tarnish his firm's reputation. He is likely to face further scrutiny Tuesday, when he addresses shareholders at the bank's annual meeting in Tampa, Fla.
The 55-year-old Ms. Drew runs the chief investment office, which manages a securities portfolio worth $374 billion with the goal of gaining a return above the bank's cost of capital and hedging some of the bank's exposures, according to people familiar with the office. Her compensation was $15.5 million last year, according to the bank's securities filings.
Ms. Drew initially tried to downplay the issues when the positions came to light in April, said people familiar with the situation, but once the scope of the losses became apparent she offered to resign, said people familiar with the situation.
Ms. Drew's departure could be announced before the bank's shareholder meeting on Tuesday, one of these people said.
Source: WSJ


Tags: J.P. Morgan , World Economy,  Ms. Drew , Bruno Michel Iksil, James Dimon ,  JP Morgan Loss, , 


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