JPMorgan Chase is preparing to accept the resignation of Ina Drew, its chief investment officer, after the bank lost $2 billion in a trade, Business Week is reporting. Drew, who is one of the highest-paid officials at the bank, offered to resign several times since Thursday, when CEO Jamie Dimon announced the loss. JPMorgan Chase accepted after pressure built over the weekend.
Drew’s departure comes as JPMorgan, the largest bank in America, is trying to minimize the damage the $2 billion loss cost. The bank’s stock was slashed on Friday by almost 10 percent.
With the disclosure of the loss, lawmakers and the banking industry’s critics have called for stricter regulation of Wall Street. Drew, along with Kristin Lemkau, a spokeswoman for JPMorgan, declined to publicly comment on the case.
Drew’s resignation and the loss of money comes as a surprise, as Dimon is known as a master of risk management. She’s also an outspoken opponent of some proposed regulation since the 2008 financial crisis.
Dimon admitted on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ that he was wrong when he dismissed concerns about the bank’s trading last month. He also said that he didn’t know the extent of the problem. He added that the trading, which came in the past six weeks, was designed to protect against financial risk.
Written by: Karen Benardello
