"JPMorgan is one of the best-managed banks there is," Obama said during an interview on ABC's "The View", which will air on Tuesday. "Jamie Dimon, the head of it, is one of the smartest bankers we got, and they still lost $2 billion and counting."
Dimon, who appeared on NBC's "Meet The Press" Sunday, told host David Gregory he had been "dead wrong" to dismiss concerns about the banks questionable trades.
"We made a terrible, egregious mistake," Dimon said. "There's almost no excuse for it."
Obama said the bank's mistakes exemplified the reasoning behind his administration's Wall Street policies.
"We don't know all the details," Obama said. "It's going to be investigated, but this is why we passed Wall Street reform."
The president's comments came the day that Ina Drew, a top executive who worked for JPMorgan for three decades, announced her retirement. Drew supervised the trading desk responsible for the loss.
According to the president, if even a bank as well-managed as JPMorgan could make an error this glaring, other banks are susceptible to similar blunders.
"You could have a bank that isn't as strong, isn't as profitable, managing those same bets and we might have had to step in," Obama said. "That's why Wall Street reform is so important."
Obama's comments echoed those made by White House press secretary Jay Carney earlier on Monday. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Carney said JPMorgan Chase's loss proved that the reforms put in place after 2008's financial crisis were necessary.
"This is strong evidence that having these rules of the road in place are essential to making sure that taxpayers don’t get left holding the bag," Carney said. "We have to remain ever vigilant."
The president also told "The View" that Wall Street reform is a key area of distinction between him and presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney.
Original Article
Source: Huff
Author: Mollie Reilly
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