Jamie Dimon sounded off Wednesday on two big scandals dogging his bank this year, expressing regret and frustration over the "London Whale" trading losses and a new government lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase (JPM).
That lawsuit, filed last week by the New York attorney general, accuses investment bank Bear Stearns of fraud - before JPMorgan Chase bought it in 2008 with government assistance. On Wednesday, Dimon called his bank's current situation unfair, saying that JPMorgan has since lost billions of dollars on Bear.
"I'm going to say we've lost $5 billion to $10 billion on various things related to Bear Stearns now," Dimon, JPMorgan's chief executive, told an audience at the Council on Foreign Relations on Wednesday in Washington, D.C. "And yes, I put it in the unfair category."
Dimon also said he regretting not negotiating with the Federal Reserve for an even better deal on Bear, given the subsequent losses and litigation.
"Would I have done Bear Stearns again, knowing what I know today?" Dimon added. "It's real close."
JPMorgan Chase says the suit concerns actions by Bear Stearns before it acquired the firm. The bank did not respond immediately to a request for comment on whether Dimon's estimate of losses include costs the bank may incur defending the lawsuit in New York.
Dimon also acknowledged some culpability for failing to catch the trading losses in the bank's London office. The debacle, which JPMorgan disclosed in May, resulted in a $6 billion loss to the bank and cost chief investment officer Ina Drew her job.
"We made a stupid error," Dimon said. "I should have caught it also. I didn't."
Still, Dimon said his company's balance sheet remains strong. "Businesses make mistakes, they learn from it and they get better for it," Dimon said. "Only when I come to Washington do people act like making a mistake should never happen."
