President Barack Obama is defending JPMorgan Chase, the country’s biggest bank, in the wake of its recent $2 billion trading loss.
The bank’s mistake could have happened to any of its competitors and points to the need for strong regulation, Obama says.
"JPMorgan is one of the best managed banks there is. Jamie Dimon, the head of it, is one of the smartest bankers we’ve got, and they still lost $2 billion and counting," the president said in an interview with ABC's "The View" that airs Tuesday,
The Hill reports.
"This is one of the best managed banks. 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. That’s why Wall Street reform is so important," he said.
Obama was making a defense for the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law that he championed. The president says the law will eliminate the need for future bailouts.
Some Democrats say JPMorgan’s gaffe argues for a strict interpretation of the legislation. But likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has promised to repeal Dodd-Frank if he takes office.
Obama has had an up-and-down relationship with JPMorgan CEO Dimon. The banker was a major supporter of Obama in 2008, but he was quite upset with the president’s condemnation of Wall Street after the 2008-09 financial crisis.
Dimon recently called himself a “barely Democrat,” saying he is displeased with what he sees as the administration’s anti-business rhetoric and policies.
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