The total fine imposed on JPMorgan Chase for the London Whale trading loss was $920 million.
The scandal involved the bank’s Chief Investment Office and derivatives trades booked through its London branch in 2012. Trader Bruno Iksil, nicknamed the “London Whale,” accumulated enormous positions in credit-default-swap indexes. The strategy was intended as a hedge, but weak controls, poor oversight, and difficulties unwinding the trades produced massive losses.
JPMorgan initially disclosed a loss of at least $2 billion, but the final trading loss reached roughly $6.2 billion. That figure is separate from the regulatory punishment. In September 2013, the bank agreed to a combined $920 million in fines and penalties paid to U.S. and U.K. authorities, including the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority.
A common mix-up is answering $2 billion: that was the early estimate of the trading loss, not the eventual regulatory settlement. The $920 million figure refers to penalties, while the trading damage itself was several billion dollars.