J.P. Morgan Chief Jamie Dimon is scheduled to testify before the Senate Banking Committee oversight hearings sometime next month about the company's $2 billion (and still growing) loss from hedge bets made by “the London Whale”. Banking Committee chairman Senator Tim Johnson released a statement saying
"Our due diligence has made it clear that the Banking Committee should hear directly from J.P. Morgan Chase's CEO Jamie Dimon".
Democrats are reportedly hoping now to make a case for finally passing the final important pieces of the 2010 Dodd-Frank banking regulations. Well by gosh, if handled well this could provide the leverage needed to wrench the “too big to fail” banking system back into some kind of order. You know, get that illusive level playing field we hear so much about back in sight at least. But wait there is more and it’s not at all surprising, but none the less it’s distressing.
Employees of the Wall Street giant and political action committees tied to it have given to the campaigns of eight of the banking panel’s 22 members, according to a search of data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. In the cases of some members – like ranking Republican Richard Shelby, and Jack Reed, the panel’s No. 2 Democrat – J.P. Morgan-related donors are among their top five campaign contributors.
J.P. Morgan employees and related PACs are the No. 1 donor to panel chairman Tim Johnson. During the 2007-2012 cycle, they’ve given just shy of $39,000 to the South Dakota Democrat’s campaign committee.
None of this means the fix is in but it is easy to think the campaign contributions might show a better long-term hedge against loss for Dimon and his JPMorgan-Chase than the ill fated trades with “the London Whale”.