In the end, what have we learned from JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s $7.1 billion “London Whale” trading debacle? For those who have lost track, the derivatives trades resulted in losses of $6.2 billion plus an additional $920 million in fines -- so far.
First, we learned that Jamie Dimon, the onetime king of Wall Street, was wrong to describe it as a “tempest in a teapot.” Then we learned that inside the bank there was (still is?) a culture of paranoia and secrecy that encouraged traders to hide their mushrooming losses.
