There are several ways to read by JPMorgan Chase (JPM) $410 million-trade manipulation settlement with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
First, the background: the largest U.S. Bank agreed to pay a penalty of $285 million and $125 millions a secret profits to current taxpayers in California and returning to the FERC in the Midwest. The deal by a foreign federal investigation of efforts to the electricity markets raises game a component. JPMorgan also agreed waiver on $200 million in claims against the California e network operators, so you could say that the settlement costs totaling more than $600 million, leading him to one of the largest of its kind. As is the practice with such schemes, the Bank does not admit any wrongdoing. JPMorgan spokesman Brian Marchiony offered the standard comment: "We are pleased to have this matter behind us."
What does that mean? A plausible interpretation emphasizes JPMorgans undeniable black eye. Finally to the hundreds of millions of dollars, Federal accusations ribs MOM power customers solve numbers? Our cousins at Bloomberg News take this view:
The case is another setback for JPMorgan, which sailed through the financial crisis of 2008 without a single quarterly loss. Last year JPMorgan lost more than 6.2 billion $ from wrong derivatives bets by traders in London. The incident prompted an investigation of the U.S. Senate, the departure of two senior executives and a debate over whether CEO Jamie Dimon, 57, its role should be Chairman. Re-elected by shareholders as Chairman in May.
Something else, if not contradictory are one, take the settlement news underlines this last set of Bloomberg: survives - handy, as it happens - Dimon and JPMorgan is methodically working its way through a thicket of legal issues. The Bank in this interpretation is on the whole to the Federal Government signaled that it wants peace, not war, and is willing to withdraw, to achieve his goal. Evidence for this analysis appeared on July 26 at the JPMorgan have let it be known that she was considering, sale or spin-off of business were real, including energy trading. This announcement came after only three days looked a congressional hearing whether big banks, owned by metals and other commodities to manipulate markets with the effect of drive the prices on items how to use soda and beer cans. In this view Dimon tried tried, regulators, their multi-front offensive blow off to convince a classic white-flag strategy.
Regardless of which read you would prefer, a big question remains as regards lead JPMorgan: the Bank's operations and one of the highest profile women on Wall Street were what happens with Blythe masters, head of global? They monitored the unit in the FERC settlement involved. They monitored the agricultural products and metals operations that JPMorgan has said that it is clear. The Bank proposes to masters as well as outsource?
To be clear: while FERC holds responsible investigators initially named "Master", and several from your dealer as personally not them individually guilty for a variety of fraudulent power scheme, the settlement itself. All individuals have denied wrongdoing. JP Morgan decided 44 stand behind champion. She worked for the Bank in London in 1987, before even the University, she attended. She rose quickly: 1990s lived in the them a hand in the development and marketing of credit derivatives, which some critics blamed for helping cause the Wall Street crash of 2008. Over the years served as a public face of JPMorgan and the industry at large. She has forged close ties with Dimon.
Yet intense controversy has swirled lately around them. That makes it logical to questions whether the resolution of the FERC investigation opportunity Dimon a conciliatory signal to Washington in the form of the exit its commodities Chief send created.
Barrett, an Assistant Managing Editor and senior writer at Bloomberg BusinessWeek, is working on a book about the Chevron oil pollution case in Ecuador, which is scheduled for publication by Crown in 2014. His latest book is called GLOCK: the rise of America's gun.