JPMorgan’s Trading Loss Is Said to Rise at Least 50%

MAY 16, 2012, 9:14
JPMorgan’s Trading Loss Is Said to Rise at Least 50%
BY NELSON D. SCHWARTZ AND JESSICA SILVER-GREENBERG

Simon Dawson/Bloomberg News
JPMorgan Chase, center, in London, where the losing trades were initiated. The Federal Reserve is examining the scope of the accelerating losses.

The trading losses suffered by JPMorgan Chase have surged in recent days, surpassing the bank’s initial $2 billion estimate by at least $1 billion, according to people with knowledge of the losses.

When Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan’s chief executive, announced the losses last Thursday, he indicated they could double within the next few quarters. But that process has been compressed into four trading days as hedge funds and other investors take advantage of JPMorgan’s distress, fueling faster deterioration in the underlying credit market positions held by the bank.

A spokeswoman for the bank declined to comment, although Mr. Dimon has said the total paper trading losses will be volatile depending on day-to-day market fluctuations.

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