JPMorgan Chase was created in 2000 by themerger of New York City banksJ.P. Morgan & Co. andChase Manhattan Company. Through its predecessors, the firm's early history can be traced to 1799, with the founding of what became the Manhattan Company. J.P. Morgan & Co. was founded in 1871 by the American financierJ. P. Morgan, who launched theHouse of Morgan on23 Wall Street as a national purveyor ofcommercial,investment, andprivate banking services. Today, the firm is a major provider of investment banking services, through corporate advisory,mergers and acquisitions, sales and trading, and public offerings. Their private banking franchise and asset management division are amongthe world's largest in terms of total assets. Its retail banking and credit card offerings are provided via theChase brand in the U.S. andUnited Kingdom.
JPMorgan Chase is theworld's fifth largest bank by total assets, with $3.9 trillion as of 2023.[8] The firm operates thelargest investment bank in the world by revenue.[9][10] It occupies the 24th spot on theFortune 500 list of the largest U.S. corporations by revenue. In 2023, JPMorgan Chase was ranked #1 in theForbes Global 2000 ranking.[11] The company's balance sheet, geographic footprint, andthought leadership have yielded a substantial market share in banking and a high level ofbrand loyalty. Alternatively, it receives routine criticism for its risk management, broad financing activities, and large-scalelegal settlements.
The JPMorgan Chase logo prior to the 2008 rebrandingAs of June 2008, the JPMorgan logo used for the company's Investment Banking, Asset Management, and Treasury & Securities Services units[12]
The logo used by Chase following the merger with the Manhattan Bank in 1954
The Chase Manhattan Bank was formed upon the 1955 purchase ofChase National Bank (established in 1877) by The Bank of the Manhattan Company (established in 1799),[14] the company's oldest predecessor institution. The Bank of the Manhattan Company was the creation ofAaron Burr, who transformed the company from a water carrier into a bank.[15]
According to page 115 ofAn Empire of Wealth byJohn Steele Gordon, the origin of this strand of JPMorgan Chase's history runs as follows:
At the turn of the nineteenth century, obtaining a bank charter required an act of thestate legislature. This, of course, injected a powerful element of politics into the process and invited what today would be called corruption but then was regarded as business as usual.Hamilton's political enemy—and eventual murderer—Aaron Burr was able to create a bank by sneaking a clause into a charter for a company called The Manhattan Company toprovide clean water to New York City. The innocuous-looking clause allowed the company to invest surplus capital in any lawful enterprise. Within six months of the company's creation, and long before it had laid a single section of water pipe, the company opened a bank, the Bank of the Manhattan Company. Still in existence, it is today JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the United States.[16]
Led byDavid Rockefeller during the 1970s and 1980s, Chase Manhattan emerged as one of the largest and most prestigious banks, with leadership positions insyndicated lending, treasury and securities services,credit cards,mortgages, and retail financial services. Weakened by the real estate collapse in the early 1990s, it was acquired byChemical Bank in 1996, retaining the Chase name.[17][18] Before its merger with J.P. Morgan & Co., the new Chase expanded the investment and asset management groups through two acquisitions. In 1999, it acquiredSan Francisco–basedHambrecht & Quist for $1.35 billion.[19] In April 2000, UK-basedRobert Fleming & Co. was purchased by the new Chase Manhattan Bank for $7.7 billion.[20]
The New York Chemical Manufacturing Company was founded in 1823 as a maker of various chemicals. In 1824, the company amended itscharter to perform banking activities and created theChemical Bank of New York. After 1851, the bank was separated from its parent and grew organically and through a series of mergers, most notably withCorn Exchange Bank in 1954,Texas Commerce Bank (a large bank in Texas) in 1986, andManufacturer's Hanover Trust Company in 1991 (the first major bank merger "among equals"). In the 1980s and early 1990s, Chemical emerged as one of the leaders in the financing ofleveraged buyout transactions. In 1984, Chemical launchedChemical Venture Partners to invest inprivate equity transactions alongside variousfinancial sponsors. By the late 1980s, Chemical developed its reputation for financing buyouts, building asyndicated leveraged finance business and related advisory businesses under the auspices of the pioneering investment banker,Jimmy Lee.[21][22] At many points throughout this history, Chemical Bank was the largest bank in the United States (either in terms ofassets ordeposit market share).[citation needed]
In 1996, Chemical Bank acquired Chase Manhattan. Although Chemical was the nominal survivor, it took the better-known Chase name.[17][18] To this day, JPMorgan Chase retains Chemical's pre-1996 stock price history, as well as Chemical's former headquarters site at270 Park Avenue (the current building was demolished anda larger replacement headquarters is being built on the same site).
The J.P. Morgan & Co. logo before its merger with Chase Manhattan Bank in 2000Influence of J.P. Morgan in Large Corporations, 1914The J.P. Morgan headquarters in New York City following the September 16, 1920, bomb explosion that took the lives of 38 people and injured over 400 more
Built in 1914,23 Wall Street was the bank's headquarters for decades.[27] On September 16, 1920, aterrorist bomb exploded in front of the bank, injuring 400 and killing 38.[28] Shortly before the bomb went off, a warning note was placed in a mailbox at the corner of Cedar Street andBroadway. The case has never been solved, and was rendered inactive by theFBI in 1940.[29]
In August 1914,Henry P. Davison, a Morgan partner, made a deal with theBank of England to make J.P. Morgan & Co. the monopoly underwriter ofwar bonds for the UK and France. The Bank of England became a "fiscal agent" of J.P. Morgan & Co., and vice versa.[30] The company also invested in the suppliers ofwar equipment to Britain and France. The company profited from the financing and purchasing activities of the two European governments.[30] Since theU.S. federal government withdrew from world affairs under successiveisolationistRepublican administrations in the 1920s, J.P. Morgan & Co. continued playing a major role in global affairs since most European countries still owed war debts.[31]
In the 1930s, J.P. Morgan & Co. and all integrated banking businesses in the United States were required by the provisions of theGlass–Steagall Act to separate theirinvestment banking from theircommercial banking operations. J.P. Morgan & Co. chose to operate as a commercial bank.[32]
In 1935, after being barred from the securities business for over a year, the heads of J.P. Morgan spun off its investment-banking operations. Led by J.P. Morgan partners,Henry S. Morgan (son of Jack Morgan and grandson ofJ. Pierpont Morgan) andHarold Stanley,Morgan Stanley was founded on September 16, 1935, with $6.6 million of nonvoting preferred stock from J.P. Morgan partners.[better source needed] To bolster its position, in 1959, J.P. Morgan merged with the Guaranty Trust Company of New York to form the Morgan Guaranty Trust Company.[23] The bank would continue to operate as Morgan Guaranty Trust until the 1980s, before migrating back to the use of the J.P. Morgan brand. In 1984, the group purchased the Purdue National Corporation ofLafayette,Indiana. In 1988, the company once again began operating exclusively as J.P. Morgan & Co.[33]
The Bank began operations inJapan in 1924,[34] inAustralia during the later part of the nineteenth century,[35] and inIndonesia during the early 1920s.[36] An office of the Equitable Eastern Banking Corporation (one of J.P. Morgan's predecessors) opened a branch inChina in 1921 and Chase National Bank was established there in 1923.[37] The bank has operated inSaudi Arabia[38] andIndia[39] since the 1930s. Chase Manhattan Bank opened an office inSouth Korea in 1967.[40] The firm's presence inGreece dates to 1968.[41] An office of JPMorgan was opened in Taiwan in 1970,[42] inRussia (Soviet Union) in 1973,[43] andNordic operations began during the same year.[44] Operations in Poland began in 1995.[41]
In 2004, JPMorgan Chase merged with Chicago-basedBank One Corp., bringing on board current chairman and CEOJamie Dimon as president and COO.[45] He succeeded former CEOWilliam B. Harrison Jr.[46] Dimon introduced new cost-cutting strategies, and replaced former JPMorgan Chase executives in key positions with Bank One executives—many of whom were with Dimon atCitigroup. Dimon became CEO in December 2005 and chairman in December 2006.[47]Bank One Corporation was formed with the 1998 merger of Banc One ofColumbus, Ohio andFirst Chicago NBD.[48] This merger was considered a failure until Dimon took over and reformed the new firm's practices. Dimon effected changes to make Bank One Corporation a viable merger partner for JPMorgan Chase.[49]
Bank One Corporation, formerly First Bancgroup of Ohio, was founded as a holding company for City National Bank of Columbus, Ohio, and several other banks in that state, all of which were renamed "Bank One" when the holding company was renamed Banc One Corporation.[50] With the beginning of interstate banking they spread into other states, always renaming acquired banks "Bank One." After theFirst Chicago NBD merger, adverse financial results led to the departure of CEOJohn B. McCoy, whose father and grandfather had headed Banc One and predecessors. JPMorgan Chase completed the merger withBank One in the third quarter of 2004.[50]
At the end of 2007,Bear Stearns was the fifth largest investment bank in the United States but itsmarket capitalization had deteriorated through the second half of the year.[51] On Friday, March 14, 2008, Bear Stearns lost 47% of its equity market value as rumors emerged that clients were withdrawing capital from the bank. Over the following weekend, it emerged that Bear Stearns might proveinsolvent, and on March 15, 2008, the Federal Reserve engineered a deal to prevent a wider systemic crisis from the collapse of Bear Stearns.[52]
On March 16, 2008, after a weekend of intense negotiations between JPMorgan, Bear, and the federal government, JPMorgan Chase announced its plans to acquire Bear Stearns in astock swap worth $2.00 per share or $240 million pending shareholder approval scheduled within 90 days.[52] In the interim, JPMorgan Chase agreed to guarantee all Bear Stearns trades and business process flows.[53] On March 18, 2008, JPMorgan Chase formally announced the acquisition of Bear Stearns for $236 million.[51] The stock swap agreement was signed that night.[54]
On March 24, 2008, after public discontent over the low acquisition price threatened the deal's closure, a revised offer was announced at approximately $10 per share.[51] Under the revised terms, JPMorgan also immediately acquired a 39.5% stake in Bear Stearns using newly issued shares at the new offer price and gained a commitment from the board, representing another 10% of the share capital, that its members would vote in favor of the new deal. With sufficient commitments to ensure a successful shareholder vote, the merger was completed on May 30, 2008.[55]
The Washington Mutual logo prior to its 2008 acquisition by JPMorgan Chase
On September 25, 2008, JPMorgan Chase bought most of the banking operations ofWashington Mutual from thereceivership of theFederal Deposit Insurance Corporation. That night, theOffice of Thrift Supervision, in what was by far the largest bank failure in American history, had seized Washington Mutual Bank and placed it into receivership. The FDIC sold the bank's assets, secured debt obligations, and deposits to JPMorgan Chase & Co for $1.836 billion, which re-opened the bank the following day.
However, Chase did not purchase any mortgages in the FDIC receivership as the loans had already been sold off into Washington Mutual-branded mortgage-backed securities long before the receivership happened on September 25, 2008. If Chase wanted ownership of any Washington Mutual mortgages, they had to purchase them from the FDIC by way of a Receiver's Deed or Bill of Sale. This could not occur, as there were no mortgages on Washington Mutual Bank's books at time of receivership. Any recorded Assignments of Mortgage claiming that Chase was "successor in interest" and that the transfer occurred "by operation of law," would be incorrect. The FDIC was "successor in interest" to Washington Mutual Bank. Chase's purchase of the bank from the FDIC was for Washington Mutual Bank only and it occurred by a Purchase & Assumption Agreement[56] and not "by operation of law" from the receivership.
As a result of the takeover, Washington Mutual shareholders lost all theirequity.[57]
JPMorgan Chase raised $10 billion in a stock sale to cover writedowns and losses after taking on deposits and branches of Washington Mutual.[58] Through the acquisition, JPMorgan now owns the former accounts ofProvidian Financial, a credit card issuer WaMu acquired in 2005. The company announced plans to complete the rebranding of Washington Mutual branches to Chase by late 2009.[citation needed] Chief executiveAlan H. Fishman received a $7.5 million sign-on bonus and cash severance of $11.6 million after being CEO for 17 days.[59][importance?]
On May 1, 2023, in what was now the second largest bank failure behind JPMorgan's acquisition ofWashington Mutual fifteen years earlier, the company acquired "the substantial majority of assets" and inherited the deposits of First Republic Bank. Under terms disclosed by JPMorgan Chase, it will make a $10.6 billion payment to theFederal Deposit Insurance Corporation, return $25 billion in funds that other banks deposited with First Republic in March in a lifeline negotiated with theUS Department of Treasury at that time, and will eliminate a $5 billion deposit it had made with First Republic.[60] As a result of the takeover, First Republic Bank shareholders lost all theirequity.[61] The FDIC estimates that the cost to theDeposit Insurance Fund will be about $13 billion.[62]
In 2006, JPMorgan Chase purchasedCollegiate Funding Services, a portfolio company of private equity firmLightyear Capital, for $663 million. CFS was used as the foundation for the Chase Student Loans, previously known as Chase Education Finance.[63]
On October 28, 2008, $25 billion in funds were transferred from theU.S. Treasury Department to JPMorgan Chase, under theTroubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).[67] This was the fifth largest amount transferred under Section A of TARP[68] to help troubled assets related to residentialmortgages. It has been widely reported[69] that JPMorgan Chase was in much better financial shape than other banks and did not need TARP funds but accepted the funds because the government did not want to single out only the banks with capital issues. JPMorgan Chase stated in February 2009 that it would be using its capital-base monetary strength to acquire new businesses.[70]
By February 2009, the U.S. government had not moved forward in enforcing TARP's intent of funding JPMorgan Chase with $25 billion.[67] In the face of the government's lack of action,Jamie Dimon was quoted during the week of February 1, 2009, as saying:
JPMorgan would be fine if we stopped talking about the damn nationalization of banks. We've got plenty of capital. To policymakers, I say where were they?... They approved all these banks. Now they're beating up on everyone, saying look at all these mistakes, and we're going to come and fix it.[71][72]
JPMorgan Chase was arguably the healthiest of the nine largest U.S. banks and did not need to take TARP funds. To encourage smaller banks with troubled assets to accept this money, Treasury SecretaryHenry Paulson allegedly coerced the CEOs of the nine largest banks to accept TARP money under short notice.[73]
In November 2009, J.P. Morgan announced it would acquire the balance of J.P. Morgan Cazenove, an advisory and underwriting joint venture established in 2004 with theCazenove Group.[74] Earlier in 2011, the company announced that by the use offield-programmable gate array-basedsupercomputers, the time taken toassess risk had been greatly reduced, from arriving at a conclusion within hours to what is now minutes.[75] In 2013, J.P. Morgan acquired Bloomspot, a San Francisco-based startup. Shortly after the acquisition, the service was shut down and Bloomspot's talent was left unused.[76][77]
In 2013, after teaming up with theBill and Melinda Gates Foundation,GlaxoSmithKline andChildren's Investment Fund, JPMorgan Chase, under Dimon launched a $94 million fund with a focus on "late-stage healthcare technology trials". The fund will "give money to final-stage drug, vaccine, and medical device studies that are otherwise stalled at companies because of their relatively high failure risk and low consumer demand. Examples of problems that could be addressed by the fund includemalaria,tuberculosis,HIV/AIDS, andmaternal andinfant mortality", according to the Gates and JPMorgan Chase led-group.[78]
The2014 JPMorgan Chase data breach, disclosed in September 2014, compromised the JPMorgan Chase accounts of over 83 million customers. The attack was discovered by the bank's security team in late July 2014, but not completely halted until the middle of August.[79][80]
In October 2014, J.P. Morgan sold its commodities trader unit to Mercuria for $800 million, a quarter of the initial valuation of $3.5 billion, as the transaction excluded some oil and metal stockpiles and other assets.[81]
In March 2016, J.P. Morgan decided not to financecoal mines andcoal power plants in wealthy countries.[82] In October 2016, J.P.Morgan unveiled its permissioned blockchain called Quorum,[83] based onEthereum'sGO programming language.[84] In December 2016, 14 former executives of the Wendel investment company faced trial fortax fraud while JPMorgan Chase was to be pursued for complicity. Jean-Bernard Lafonta was convicted December 2015 for spreading false information and insider trading, and fined 1.5 million euros.[85]
In March 2017, Lawrence Obracanik, a former JPMorgan Chase & Co. employee, pleaded guilty to criminal charges that he stole more than $5 million from his employer to pay personal debts.[86] In June 2017, Matt Zames, then-COO of the bank, decided to leave the firm.[87] In December 2017, J.P. Morgan was sued by theNigerian government for $875 million, whichNigeria alleges was transferred by J.P. Morgan to a corrupt former minister.[88] Nigeria accused J.P. Morgan of being "grossly negligent".[89]
In February 2019, J.P. Morgan announced the launch ofJPM Coin, adigital token that will be used to settle transactions between clients of its wholesale payments business.[90] It would be the firstcryptocurrency issued by a United States bank.[91]
On April 19, 2021, JP Morgan pledged $5billion towards theEuropean Super League.[92][93] a controversial breakaway group of football clubs seeking to create a monopolistic structure where the founding members would be guaranteed entry to the competition in perpetuity. They funded the failed attempt to create the league, which, if successful, would have ended the meritocratic European pyramid soccer system. J.P. Morgan's role in the creation of the Super League was instrumental; the investment bank was reported to have worked on it for several years.[94] After a strong backlash, the owners/management of the teams that proposed creating the league pulled out of it.[95] After the attempt to end the European football hierarchy failed, J.P. Morgan apologized for its role in the scheme.[94] JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said the company "kind of missed" that football supporters would respond negatively to the Super League.[96] While the absence of promotion and relegation is a common sports model in the US, this is an antithesis to the European competition-based pyramid model and has led to widespread condemnation from Football federations internationally as well as at government level.[97] However, even at the time, JPMorgan had been involved in European football for almost 20 years. In 2003, they advised theGlazer ownership of Manchester United. It also advisedRocco Commisso, the owner ofMediacom, to purchaseACF Fiorentina, andDan Friedkin on his takeover ofA.S. Roma. Moreover, It aidedInter Milan and A.S. Roma to sell bonds backed by future media revenue, and Spain'sReal Madrid CF to raise funds to refurbish theirSantiago Bernabeu Stadium.[98]
In September 2021, JPMorgan Chase entered the UK retail banking market by launching an app-basedcurrent account under theChase brand. This is the company's first retail banking operation outside of the United States.[99][100][101] In 2021, the company made more than over 30 acquisitions including OpenInvest andNutmeg.[102][103] In March 2022, JPMorgan Chase announced that would acquireGlobal Shares (now is J.P. Morgan Workplace solutions), a cloud-based provider of equity management software.[104][105] In November 2021, JPMorgan Chase acquired restaurant recommendation website and owner ofZagat,The Infatuation.[106][107]
In June 2021, JPMorgan Chase invested in Brazilian digital bank C6, acquiring 40% of the company. The amount of investment was not disclosed, but 6 months before the deal C6 was valued at 2.28 billion dollars.[108]
In 2022, JPMorgan Chase was ranked 24 on theFortune 500 rankings of the largest U.S. corporations by total revenue.[109] In March 2022, JPMorgan Chase announced to wind down its business inRussia in compliance with regulatory and licensing requirements.[110]
On May 20, 2022, JPMorgan Chase usedblockchain for collateral settlements, the latestWall Street experimentation with the technology in the trading of traditional financial assets.[111]
In September 2022, the company announced it was acquiring California-based Renovite Technologies to expand its payments processing business amid heavy competition from fintech firms likeStripe andAdyen. This comes on top of previous, similar moves of buying a 49% stake in fintech Viva Wallet and a majority sake in Volkswagen's payments business, among many other acquisitions in other areas of finance.[112][113][114]
In November 2022, JPMorgan Chase sent COO Daniel Pinto to theGlobal Financial Leaders' Investment Summit in Hong Kong.[115] The attendance of US financial executives drew heavy criticism from some US lawmakers, who had previously urged the US financial executives to cancel their attendance to the summit.[116][117]
In May 2023,CNBC reported JPMorgan Chase was developing a new tool for investment advisers using artificial intelligence called IndexGPT. Via trademark filing, this would rely on a "disruptive form of artificial intelligence" and cloud computing software to select investments for customers. This move was a sign the bank intended to launch a product in the near term, given the requirements around filing, and it came amid a flurry of development aroundChatGPT and this technology from financial institutions. This came amid a period of job cuts, including for technology roles, even as the company emphasize its commitment to AI and created a model to detect potential changes in Federal Reserve policy.[118][119][120][121]
JP increased its stake in Brazilian digital bank C6 to 46% in 2023: the bank has increased the number of customers from 8 million to 25 million since 2021 and its loan portfolio from R$9.5 billion (about $2 billion) to R$40 billion ($8.2 billion).[108]
In February 2025, Matt Sable and Melissa Smith were appointed as co-heads of commercial banking by JPMorgan Chase after a leadership reshuffle. They will oversee the service to over 70,000 clients across North America and report to John Simmons and Filippo Gori. Both have decades of experience under their belt, with Sable spearheading financial institutions and Smith specializing in innovation economy and middle market banking.[122]
Chase paid out over $2 billion in fines and legal settlements for their role in financingEnron Corporation with aiding and abetting Enron Corp.'ssecurities fraud, which collapsed amida financial scandal in 2001.[123] In 2003, Chase paid $160 million in fines and penalties to settle claims by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Manhattan district attorney's office. In 2005, Chase paid $2.2 billion to settle a lawsuit filed by investors in Enron.[124]
In December 2002, Chase paid fines totaling $80 million, with the amount split between the states and the federal government. The fines were part of a settlement involving charges that ten banks, including Chase, deceived investors with biased research. The total settlement with the ten banks was $1.4 billion. The settlement required that the banks separate investment banking from research, and ban any allocation of IPO shares.[125]
JPMorgan Chase, which helpedunderwrite $15.4 billion ofWorldCom's bonds, agreed in March 2005 to pay $2 billion; that was 46 percent, or $630 million, more than it would have paid had it accepted an investor offer in May 2004 of $1.37 billion. J.P. Morgan was the last big lender to settle. Its payment is the second largest in the case, exceeded only by the $2.6 billion accord reached in 2004 byCitigroup.[126] In March 2005, 16 ofWorldCom's 17 former underwriters reached settlements with the investors.[127][128] In 2005, JPMorgan Chase acknowledged that its two predecessor banks had received ownership of thousands of slaves as collateral prior to theCivil War. The company apologized for contributing to the "brutal and unjust institution" of slavery.[129][130] The bank paid $5 million in reparations in the form of a scholarship program for Black students.[131][132][133]
In 2008 and 2009, 14 lawsuits were filed against JPMorgan Chase in various district courts on behalf of Chase credit card holders claiming the bank violated theTruth in Lending Act, breached its contract with the consumers, and committed a breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. The consumers contended that Chase, with little or no notice, increased minimum monthly payments from 2% to 5% on loan balances that were transferred to consumers' credit cards based on the promise of a fixed interest rate. In May 2011, theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of California certified the class action lawsuit. On July 23, 2012, Chase agreed to pay $100 million to settle the claim.[134]
In November 2009, a week afterBirmingham, Alabama MayorLarry Langford was convicted for financial crimes related to bond swaps forJefferson County, Alabama,[importance?] JPMorgan Chase & Co. agreed to a $722 million settlement with theU.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to end a probe into the sales ofderivatives that allegedly contributed to the near-bankruptcy of the county. JPMorgan had been chosen by the county commissioners to refinance the county's sewer debt, and theSEC had alleged that JPMorgan made undisclosed payments to close friends of the commissioners in exchange for the deal and made up for the costs by charging higher interest rates on the swaps.[135]
In June 2010, J.P. Morgan Securities was fined a record£33.32 million ($49.12 million) by the UKFinancial Services Authority (FSA) for failing to protect an average of £5.5 billion of clients' money from 2002 to 2009.[136][137] FSA requires financial firms to keep clients' funds in separate accounts to protect the clients in case such a firm becomes insolvent. The firm had failed to properly segregateclient funds from corporate funds following the merger of Chase and J.P. Morgan, resulting in a violation of FSA regulations but no losses to clients. The clients' funds would have been at risk had the firm become insolvent during this period.[138] J.P. Morgan Securities reported the incident to the FSA, corrected the errors, and cooperated in the ensuing investigation, resulting in the fine being reduced 30% from an original amount of £47.6 million.[137]
In January 2011, JPMorgan Chase admitted that it wrongly overcharged several thousand military families for their mortgages. The bank also admitted it improperly foreclosed on more than a dozen military families; both actions were in clear violation of theServicemembers Civil Relief Act which automatically lowers mortgage rates to 6 percent, and bars foreclosure proceedings of active-duty personnel. The overcharges may have never come to light were it not for legal action taken by Captain Jonathan Rowles. Both Captain Rowles and his spouse Julia accused Chase of violating the law and harassing the couple for nonpayment. An official stated that the situation was "grim" and Chase initially stated it would be refunding up to $2,000,000 to those who were overcharged, and that families improperly foreclosed on have gotten or will get their homes back.[139] Chase has acknowledged that as many as 6,000 active duty military personnel were illegally overcharged, and more than 18 military families homes were wrongly foreclosed. In April, Chase agreed to pay a total of $27 million in compensation to settle the class-action suit.[140] At the company's 2011 shareholders' meeting, Dimon apologized for the error and said the bank would forgive the loans of any active-duty personnel whose property had been foreclosed. In June 2011, lending chief Dave Lowman was forced out over the scandal.[141][142]
On August 25, 2011, JPMorgan Chase agreed to settle fines with regard to violations of the sanctions under theOffice of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regime.[undue weight? –discuss] The U.S. Department of Treasury released the following civil penalties information under the heading: "JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. Settles Apparent Violations of Multiple Sanctions Programs":[importance?]
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A, New York, NY ("JPMC") has agreed to remit $88,300,000 to settle a potential civil liability for apparent violations of the Cuban Assets Control Regulations ("CACR"), 31 C.F.R. part 515; the Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferators Sanctions Regulations ("WMDPSR"), 31 C.F.R. part 544; Executive Order 13382, "Blocking Property of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferators and Their Supporters;" the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations ("GTSR"), 31 C.F.R. part 594; the Iranian Transactions Regulations ("ITR"), 31 C.F.R. part 560; the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations ("SSR"), 31 C.F.R. part 538; the Former Liberian Regime of Charles Taylor Sanctions Regulations ("FLRCTSR"), 31 C.F.R. part 593; and the Reporting, Procedures, and Penalties Regulations ("RPPR"), 31 C.F.R. part 501, that occurred between December 15, 2005, and March 1, 2011.
— U.S. Department of the Treasury Resource Center, OFAC Recent Actions. Retrieved June 18, 2013.[143]
On February 9, 2012, it was announced that the five largest mortgage servicers (Ally/GMAC, Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo) agreed to a historic settlement with the federal government and 49 states.[144] The settlement, known as theNational Mortgage Settlement (NMS), required the servicers to provide about $26 billion in relief to distressed homeowners and in direct payments to the states and federal government. This settlement amount makes the NMS the second largest civil settlement in U.S. history, only trailing theTobacco Master Settlement Agreement.[145] The five banks were also required to comply with 305 new mortgage servicing standards. Oklahoma held out and agreed to settle with the banks separately.
In July 2013, TheFederal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved a stipulation and consent agreement under which JPMorgan Ventures Energy Corporation (JPMVEC), a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase & Co., agreed to pay $410 million in penalties anddisgorgement to ratepayers for allegations ofmarket manipulation stemming from the company's bidding activities inelectricity markets inCalifornia and theMidwest from September 2010 through November 2012.[undue weight? –discuss] JPMVEC agreed to pay a civil penalty of $285 million to theU.S. Treasury and to disgorge $125 million in unjust profits. JPMVEC admitted the facts set forth in the agreement, but neither admitted nor denied the violations.[147] The case stemmed from multiple referrals to FERC from market monitors in 2011 and 2012 regarding JPMVEC's bidding practices. FERC investigators determined that JPMVEC engaged in 12 manipulative bidding strategies designed to make profits from power plants that were usually out of the money in the marketplace. In each of them, the company made bids designed to create artificial conditions that forcedCalifornia andMidcontinent Independent System Operators (ISOs) to pay JPMVEC outside the market at premium rates.[147] FERC investigators further determined that JPMVEC knew that the California ISO and Midcontinent ISO received no benefit from making inflated payments to the company, thereby defrauding the ISOs by obtaining payments for benefits that the company did not deliver beyond the routine provision of energy. FERC investigators also determined that JPMVEC's bids displaced other generation and altered day ahead and real-time prices from the prices that would have resulted had the company not submitted the bids.[147] Under theEnergy Policy Act of 2005, Congress directed FERC to detect, prevent, and appropriately sanction the gaming ofenergy markets. According to FERC, the Commission approved the settlement as in the public interest.[147]
FERC's investigation of energy market manipulations led to a subsequent investigation into possible obstruction of justice by employees of JPMorgan Chase.[148] Various newspapers reported in September 2013 that theFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) andUS Attorney's Office in Manhattan were investigating whether employees withheld information or made false statements during the FERC investigation.[148] The reported impetus for the investigation was a letter fromMassachusetts SenatorsElizabeth Warren andEdward Markey, in which they asked FERC why no action was taken against people who impeded the FERC investigation.[148] At the time of the FBI investigation, theSenate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations was also looking into whether JPMorgan Chase employees impeded the FERC investigation.[148]Reuters reported that JPMorgan Chase was facing over a dozen investigations at the time.[148]
Bernie Madoff opened a business account at Chemical Bank in 1986 and maintained it until 2008, long after Chemical acquired Chase.[undue weight? –discuss] In 2010,Irving Picard, the SIPC receiver appointed to liquidate Madoff's company, alleged that JPMorgan Chase failed to prevent Madoff from defrauding his customers. According to the suit, Chase "knew or should have known" that Madoff's wealth management business was a fraud. However, Chase did not report its concerns to regulators or law enforcement until October 2008, when it notified the UKSerious Organised Crime Agency. Picard argued that even after Morgan's investment bankers reported its concerns about Madoff's performance to UK officials, Chase's retail banking division did not put any restrictions on Madoff's banking activities until his arrest two months later.[149] The receiver's suit against JPMorgan Chase was dismissed by the Court for failing to set forth any legally cognizable claim for damages.[150] In the fall of 2013, JPMorgan Chase began talks with prosecutors and regulators regarding compliance with anti-money-laundering and know-your-customer banking regulations in connection with Madoff.[citation needed]
In August 2013, JPMorgan Chase announced that it was being investigated by theUnited States Department of Justice over its offerings ofmortgage-backed securities leading up to thefinancial crisis of 2007–08. The company said that the Department of Justice had preliminarily concluded that the firm violated federal securities laws in offerings ofsubprime andAlt-A residential mortgage securities during the period 2005 to 2007.[151] On November 19, 2013, theJustice Department announced that JPMorgan Chase agreed to pay $13 billion to settle investigations into its business practices pertaining tomortgage-backed securities.[152] Of that amount, $9 billion was penalties and fines, and the remaining $4 billion was consumer relief. This was the largest corporate settlement to date. Conduct at Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual prior to their 2008 acquisitions accounted for much of the alleged wrongdoing. The agreement did not settle criminal charges.[153]
On January 7, 2014, JPMorgan Chase agreed to pay a total of $2.05 billion in fines and penalties to settle civil and criminal charges related to its role in the Madoff scandal.[undue weight? –discuss] The government filed a two-countcriminal information charging JPMorgan Chase with Bank Secrecy Act violations, but the charges would be dismissed within two years provided that JPMorgan Chase reforms its anti-money laundering procedures and cooperates with the government in its investigation. The bank agreed to forfeit $1.7 billion. The lawsuit, which was filed on behalf of shareholders against chief executiveJamie Dimon and other high-ranking JPMorgan Chase employees, used statements made byBernie Madoff during interviews conducted while in prison inButner, North Carolina claiming that JPMorgan Chase officials knew of the fraud. The lawsuit stated that "JPMorgan was uniquely positioned for 20 years to see Madoff's crimes and put a stop to them ... But faced with the prospect of shutting down Madoff's account and losing lucrative profits, JPMorgan – at its highest level – chose to turn a blind eye."[154][neutrality isdisputed] JPMorgan Chase also agreed to pay a $350 million fine to theOffice of the Comptroller of the Currency and settle the suit filed against it by Picard for $543 million.[155][156][157][158]
In November 2016, JPMorgan Chase agreed to pay $264 million in fines to settle civil and criminal charges involving a systematic bribery scheme spanning 2006 to 2013 in which the bank secured business deals inHong Kong by agreeing to hire hundreds of friends and relatives ofChinese government officials, resulting in more than $100 million in revenue for the bank.[159]
In January 2017, the United States sued the company, accusing it of discriminating against "thousands" of black andHispanic mortgage borrowers between 2006 and at least 2009.[160][161]
On December 26, 2018, as part of an investigation by theU.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into abusive practices related toAmerican depositary receipts (ADRs), JPMorgan agreed to pay more than $135 million to settle charges of improper handling of "pre-released" ADRs without admitting or denying the SEC's findings. The sum consisted of $71 million in ill-gotten gains plus $14.4 million in prejudgment interest and an additional penalty of $49.7 million.[162]
On May 14, 2020,Financial Times, citing a report which revealed how companies are treating employees, their supply chains and other stakeholders, during theCOVID-19 pandemic, documented that J.P. Morgan Asset Management alongsideFidelity Investments andVanguard have been accused of paying lip services to cover human rights violations. The UK based media also referenced that a few of the world's biggest fund houses took the action to lessen the impact of abuses, such asmodern slavery, at the companies they invest in. J.P. Morgan, in responding to the report, said that it took "human rights violations very seriously" and "any company with alleged or proven violations of principles, including human rights abuses, is scrutinized and may result in either enhanced engagement or removal from a portfolio."[163]
On November 24, 2022, two women who accusedJeffrey Epstein of sex trafficking and sexual abuse also sued JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank, accusing them of benefiting and closing their eyes to Epstein's sex trafficking operations. According to the lawsuits, banks knew that Epstein's accounts were used to finance sex trafficking crimes.[165][166] In June 2023, after the allegations reached class-action status, the parties reached a settlement, with JPMorgan agreeing to pay $290million.[167]
In September 2023, JPMorgan agreed to a $75 million settlement with theUnited States Virgin Islands Department of Justice for its alleged facilitation and failure to notify law enforcement of Epstein's illegal activities.[168]
On April 24, after Russian state-ownedVTB Bank filed suit against JPMorgan to recoup assets frozen underinternational sanctions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a Russian court ordered the seizure of JPMorgan funds totalling $439.5 million.[169] JPMorgan launched a countersuit the following day, citing its inability to reclaim VTB’s stranded US funds. On April 26, a Russian court authorized the seizure of $13.34 million of assets held in Russia by a European subsidiary of JPMorgan andCommerzbank.[170]
In July, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and its affiliates became substantial holders in Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd., acquiring a 5.04% voting power with 16,881,167 ordinary shares.[171]
On October 31, JPMorgan Chase agreed to pay $151 million to resolve five U.S. SEC enforcement cases, including allegations of misleading brokerage disclosures[172]
On December 2, JPMorgan Chase was finedS$2.4 million by theMonetary Authority of Singapore after providing inaccurate and incomplete information to clients in 24 over-the-counter bond transactions by relationship managers, overcharging the clients and refusing to pay back the money difference from the pre-agreed spreads to the spreads given to clients.[173]
Note: Financial data in billions of US dollars and employee data in thousands. For years 1998, 1999, and 2000 figures are combined forChase Manhattan andJ.P. Morgan & Co., for consistency, pre-dating their official merger in 2000. The data is sourced from the company's SECForm 10-K from 1998 to 2020.[174][175][176][177][178][179][180][181][182]
The corporate structure of JPMorgan Chase & Co. has changed throughout its history through various mergers and acquisitions as well as geographic expansion. In the United States, it owns and operates two key legal subsidiaries:[183]
The company, known previously as Chase Manhattan International Limited, was founded on September 18, 1968.[185][186] In August 2008, the bank announced plans to construct a new European headquarters atCanary Wharf, London.[187] These plans were subsequently suspended in December 2010, when the bank announced the purchase of a nearby existing office tower at25 Bank Street for use as the European headquarters of its investment bank.[188] 25 Bank Street had originally been designated as the European headquarters ofEnron and was subsequently used as the headquarters ofLehman Brothers International.[importance?] The regional office is in London with offices inBournemouth,Glasgow, andEdinburgh forasset management, private banking, and investment banking.[189]
The following is an illustration of the company's major mergers and acquisitions and historical predecessors, although this is not a comprehensive list:
JPMorgan Chase'sPAC and its employees contributed $2.6 million to federal campaigns in 2014 and financed its lobbying team with $4.7 million in the first three-quarters of 2014. JPMorgan's giving has been focused on Republicans, with 62 percent of its donations going to GOP recipients in 2014. 78House Democrats received campaign cash from JPMorgan's PAC in the 2014 cycle at an average of $5,200 and a total of 38 of the Democrats who voted for the 2015 spending bill took money from JPMorgan's PAC in 2014. JPMorgan Chase's PAC made maximum donations to theDemocratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the leadership PACs ofSteny Hoyer andJim Himes in 2014.[199]
JPMorgan has come under criticism for investing in newfossil fuels projects since theParis climate change agreement. From 2016 to the first half of 2019 it provided $75 billion (£61 billion) to companies expanding in sectors such asfracking andArctic oil and gas exploration.[200] According toRainforest Action Network its total fossil fuel financing was $64 billion in 2018, $69 billion in 2017 and $62 billion in 2016.[201] From 2015, which is when theParis Agreement was adopted, until 2021, JP Morgan Chase provided $317 billion in fossil fuel financing; 33% more than any other bank.[202] On October 21, 2021, JP Morgan Chase joined the Net-Zero Banking Alliance,[203] which supports "the global transition of thereal economy to net-zero emissions."[204]
An internal study, 'Risky business: the climate and macroeconomy', by bank economists David Mackie and Jessica Murray was leaked in early‑2020.[importance?] The report, dated 14January 2020, states that under our current unsustainable trajectory ofclimate change "we cannot rule out catastrophic outcomes where human life as we know it is threatened". JPMorgan subsequently distanced itself from the content of the study.[205]
The oldChase Manhattan Bank's headquarters were at One Chase Manhattan Plaza (now28 Liberty Street) inLower Manhattan, the current temporary world headquarters for JPMorgan Chase & Co. are located at383 Madison Avenue. In 2018, JPMorgan announced they would demolish the current headquarters building at270 Park Avenue, which was alsoUnion Carbide's former headquarters, to make way for a newer building at270 Park Avenue that will be 681 feet (208 m) taller than the previous building. Demolition was completed in the spring of 2021, and the new building will be completed in 2025. The replacement 1,388 feet (423 m) and 70-story headquarters will contain 2,500,000 square feet (230,000 m2), and will be able to fit 15,000 employees, whereas the current headquarters fits 6,000 employees in a space that has a capacity of 3,500. The new headquarters is part of theEast Midtown rezoning plan.[7] When construction is completed in 2025, the headquarters will then move back into the new building at 270 Park Avenue. As the new headquarters is replaced, the bulk of North American operations take place in five nearby buildings on or nearPark Avenue in New York City: the former Bear Stearns Building at383 Madison Avenue (just south of 270 Park Avenue), the former Chemical Bank Building at277 Park Avenue just to the east, 237 Park Avenue, and 390 Madison Avenue. The bank entered into an agreement to purchase250 Park Avenue in July 2024.[212]
Operations centers in the United Kingdom are located in Bournemouth, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London,Liverpool, andSwindon. The London location also serves as the European headquarters.
The derivatives team at JPMorgan, led byBlythe Masters, was a pioneer in the invention ofcredit derivatives such as thecredit default swap. The first CDS was created to allowExxon to borrow money from JPMorgan while JPMorgan transferred the risk to theEuropean Bank of Reconstruction and Development. JPMorgan's team later created the 'BISTRO', a bundle of credit default swaps that was the progenitor of theSynthetic CDO.[216][217] As of 2013 JPMorgan had the largest credit default swap and credit derivatives portfolio by total notional amount of any US bank.[218][219]
In April 2012, hedge fund insiders became aware that the market in credit default swaps was possibly being affected by the activities ofBruno Iksil, a trader for JPMorgan Chase & Co., referred to as "the London whale" in reference to the huge positions he was taking. Heavy opposing bets to his positions are known to have been made by traders, including another branch of J.P. Morgan, who purchased the derivatives offered by J.P. Morgan in such high volume.[220][221] Early reports were denied and minimized by the firm in an attempt to minimize exposure.[222] Major losses, $2 billion, were reported by the firm in May 2012, in relation to these trades and updated to $4.4 billion on July 13, 2012.[223] The disclosure, which resulted in headlines in the media, did not disclose the exact nature of the trading involved, which remained in progress as of June 28, 2012, and continued to produce losses which could total as much as $9 billion under worst-case scenarios.[224][225] In the end, the trading produced actual losses of only $6 billion. The item traded, possibly related to CDX IG 9,an index based on the default risk of major U.S. corporations,[226][227] has been described as a "derivative of a derivative".[228][229] On the company's emergency conference call, JPMorgan Chase chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon said the strategy was "flawed, complex, poorly reviewed, poorly executed, and poorly monitored".[230] The episode was investigated by the Federal Reserve, the SEC, and the FBI.[231]
Fines levied regarding the 2012 JPMorgan Chase trading loss[232]
On September 18, 2013, JPMorgan Chase agreed to pay a total of $920 million in fines and penalties to American and UK regulators for violations related to the trading loss and other incidents. The fine was part of a multiagency and multinational settlement with the Federal Reserve,Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and theSecurities and Exchange Commission in the United States and theFinancial Conduct Authority in the UK. The company also admitted breaking American securities law.[233] The fines amounted to the third biggest banking fine levied by US regulators, and the second-largest by UK authorities.[232] As of September 19, 2013[update], two traders face criminal proceedings.[232] It is also the first time in several years that a major American financial institution has publicly admitted breaking the securities laws.[234]
A report by the SEC was critical of the level of oversight from senior management on traders, and the FCA said the incident demonstrated "flaws permeating all levels of the firm: from portfolio level right up to senior management."[232] On the day of the fine, the BBC reported from theNew York Stock Exchange that the fines "barely registered" with traders there, the news had been an expected development, and the company had prepared for the financial hit.[232]
The collection was begun in 1959 byDavid Rockefeller,[235] and comprises over 30,000 objects, of which over 6,000 are photographic-based,[236] as of 2012 containing more than one hundred works by Middle Eastern and North African artists.[237] The One Chase Manhattan Plaza building was the original location at the start of collection by the Chase Manhattan Bank, the current collection containing both this and also those works that the First National Bank of Chicago had acquired prior to assimilation into the JPMorgan Chase organization.[238] L. K. Erf has been the director of acquisitions of works since 2004 for the bank,[239] whose art program staff is completed by an additional three full-time members and one registrar.[240] The advisory committee at the time of the Rockefeller initiation includedA. H. Barr, andD. Miller, and also J. J. Sweeney, R. Hale, P. Rathbone and G. Bunshaft.[241]
Chase Auditorium (formerly Bank One Auditorium) inside ofChase Tower inChicago, Illinois (formerly Bank One Tower)
TheJPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge, owned and operated by JPMorgan Chase, is the largest corporate road racing series in the world with over 200,000 participants in 12 cities in six countries on five continents. It has been held annually since 1977 and the races range in size from 4,000 entrants to more than 60,000.
JPMorgan Chase is the official sponsor of theUS Open
JPMorgan Chase is mainly owned by institutional investors, with over 70% of shares held. The 10 largest shareholder of the bank in December 2023 were:[242]
Jamie Dimon is the chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase. The acquisition deal of Bank One in 2004, was designed in part to recruit Dimon to JPMorgan Chase. He became chief executive at the end of 2005.[243] Dimon has been recognized for his leadership during the2008 financial crisis.[244] Under his leadership, JPMorgan Chase rescued two ailing banks during the crisis.[245]
Dina Dublon – member of the board of directors ofMicrosoft,Accenture andPepsiCo and former executive vice president and chief financial officer of JPMorgan Chase
George P. Shultz – U.S. Secretary of Labor (1969–70), U.S. Secretary of Treasury (1972–74), U.S. Secretary of State (1982–89)
John J. McCloy – president of the World Bank, U.S. High Commissioner for Germany, chairman of Chase Manhattan Bank, chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations, a member of the Warren Commission, and a prominent United States adviser to all presidents from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Ronald Reagan
Mahua Moitra – investment banker at JPMorgan Chase, Indian Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
^On March 18, 2008, JPMorgan Chase announced the acquisition of Bear Stearns for $236 million, $2.00 per share. On March 24, 2008, a revised offer was announced at approximately $10 per share
^On September 25, 2008, JPMorgan Chase announced the acquisition of Washington Mutual for $1.8 billion.
^Zuckerman, Gregory; Burne, Katy (April 6, 2012)."'London Whale' Rattles Debt Market".The Wall Street Journal.Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. RetrievedAugust 12, 2017.