What Did JPMorgan Execs Know and When Did They Know It? (ProPublica)

The concern after JPMorgan Chase Bank lost $2 billion has been on how the bank took the losses, not if any existing laws were broken. The question does not seem to have been asked. The public became aware of losses in April, but JPMorgan downplayed concerns. The bank now claims the big losses occurred after the first quarter in late April. Through traders' and bloggers' efforts, it appears the credit default swap indexes Bruno Iksil was speculating had recent moves—indicating that first-quarter earnings were not misstated. Other odd aspects of the loss further point toward a management error. "There's always management pressure when it's a big number and it's material," said David Murphy, a risk management specialist at Rivast Consulting. "'Are we sure?' The last thing managers want is a big loss in quarter that then comes back right afterwards. Then they look like total idiots."

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