Tuesday, July 29, 2014

The JP Morgan Chase 13 billion US Dollar Fine: Way Excessive Mea Culpa?



With a very punitive 13 billion US dollar fine to be paid by JP Morgan Chase for making millions of Americans loose their life savings does the punishment truly fit the crime? 

 By: Ringo Bones 

The US Government finally made JP Morgan Chase to pay a 13 billion US dollar fine after misleading millions of retail investors out of their “life savings” via mortgage back securities that eventually resulted to the 2008 global credit crunch and the September 15, 2008 “financial chaos” of the United States. Given that the action of JP Morgan Chase is clearly morally reprehensible from a corporate social responsibility standpoint, but is the 13 billion US dollar fine rather way too excessive and over the top? 

Back in 2012, JP Morgan Chase earned a profit of 20 billion US dollars and will likely to do better before the end of 2013 – which during at that time, the US government reached the decision to make JP Morgan Chase pay the 13 billion US dollar fine. And during the last quarter of 2013, JP Morgan Chase share prices where in a 10-year high so the fine may be commensurate with the financial companies earnings. And JP Morgan Chase is still currently under investigation for LIBOR Rate manipulation, global FOREX rate fixing and conducting business with firms in Mainland China that are in unfriendly terms with the United States government. But has JP Morgan Chase always conducted its business in a morally deplorable manner? 

When Hitler’s NAZI Germany started its military adventurism in the Sudetenland in order to bring back the territories that historically belonged to Germany, JP Morgan (a few decades before they merged with Chase Manhattan) continued to deal with the Third Reich that also bolstered Adolf Hitler’s ability to underwrite his military adventurism across Europe. It wasn’t until then US President Franklin D. Roosevelt forbade JP Morgan from dealing with the then NAZI Germany that the financial institution stopped dealing with the evil regime. 

1 comment:

Mischa said...

According to a report a few months ago in Forbes magazine, JP Morgan Chase has been doing fine despite of the 13-billion US dollar settlement and even managed to give the company's executives millions of US dollars in year-end bonuses back in 2013.