WASHINGTON – Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, released the following statement on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission decision to fine JPMorgan $100 million for its whale trades:
“The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission should be commended for penalizing JPMorgan yesterday for its multi-billion-dollar ‘London Whale’ market manipulation and for doing so while short-staffed during the government shutdown. With the addition of CFTC’s $100 million fine, JPMorgan has been assessed over $1 billion in fines due to the whale trades, which should help deter future misconduct. It is also important that JPMorgan admitted that it was reckless in carrying out the whale trades and accepted the consequences. This legal action shows how much we need CFTC cops on the beat to bring safety and fairness to our financial markets and how damaging the government shutdown has been when the CFTC cannot police U.S. futures, swaps, and options markets.”
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