Occupy Wall Street March on May Day, 2012
By Pam Martens: June 4, 2012
Occupy the SEC and Occupy Wall Street’s Alternative Banking Working Group are asking the SEC to investigate Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, and make a criminal referral to the U.S. Department of Justice, if appropriate.
This Wednesday, June 6th, at 5:30 p.m. EST, the two groups will march from Liberty Plaza to the offices of JPMorgan Chase, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and on to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s New York City office for a teach-in.
The groups issued a statement, that read: “We are marching on June 6th because that date marks the 78th anniversary of the founding of the SEC in 1934. The SEC was created to enforce two basic principles: 1) public companies offering securities to investors must tell the truth about their business, the securities, and the risks involved in investing. 2) people who sell and trade securities must treat investors fairly and honestly, putting their investors’ interests first.
“If SEC officials find out that a company has done otherwise they have the power to investigate, issue civil penalties, and refer the case to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution. We believe the SEC has not fully utilized its authority, as demonstrated by its kid-glove treatment of white-collar hustlers like Dick Fuld and Jon Corzine. Today, we think that the SEC has an even more egregious case to investigate: Jamie Dimon and his role in JP Morgan’s CIO debacle.”
The “CIO debacle” refers to the estimated $2 billion to $7 billion that the Chief Investment Office of JPMorgan Chase has lost trading exotic derivatives in an off-the-radar-screen operation in London. The firm is under investigation in the matter by the FBI and five sets of regulators as well as the Senate Banking Committee and the House Financial Services Committee.
The regulatory interest stems not only from the size of the losses but the fact that JPMorgan Chase was trading with the insured deposits of its banking customers. Historically, under the U.S. Code, insured deposits must be invested conservatively to meet the banking requirements for safety and soundness. Trading over $100 billion in credit derivatives in an illiquid market raises red flags regarding safety and soundness issues.
The Senate Banking Committee will be grilling JPMorgan’s regulators on the same day as the march.
The schedule for the march is as follows:
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
5:30 – 6:00: Gather in Liberty Plaza
6:00 – 6:15: March on JPMorgan at One Chase Plaza
6:15 – 6:30: March on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
6:30 – 7:00: March to the SEC/Teach-In
