TAMPA, fla. — JPMorgan Chase’s chief executive offered a quick but blunt apology to shareholders Tuesday for a $2 billion trading loss that “should never have happened,” and he survived a push to strip him of the title of chairman of the board.
Jamie Dimon spent four minutes talking about the trading loss and steps the company has taken to address it, and two more talking about accomplishments of the company over the past year.
The loss, disclosed Thursday, rattled investor confidence in the largest bank in the U.S. and in the ability of Wall Street to fight regulatory changes more than three years after the financial crisis.
It also added some theatrics to the JPMorgan annual meeting, traditionally a staid affair. Reporters swarmed, police with guns stood guard on the roof, and protesters threw eggs at a poster with Dimon’s picture on it.
The ill-timed bet on so-called credit derivatives, Dimon said, “should never have happened. I can’t justify it. Unfortunately, these mistakes are self-inflicted.”
Speaking with reporters later, he added: “The buck always stops with me.” The Associated Press
