JPMorgan CIO retires, Obama says proves reform case - Yahoo! Finance

3 billion and counting. 

JPMorgan CIO retires, Obama says proves reform case - Yahoo! Finance: LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The leader of JPMorgan Chase & Co's hedging unit is retiring after trading losses that could end up exceeding $3 billion, a shortfall that President Barack Obama said might have led the government to step in had such losses struck a smaller bank.

The Federal Reserve meanwhile said it is now looking into whether JPMorgan has similar risk problems at other units, joining a probe by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and upcoming hearings in the U.S. Senate.

Late Monday, a leading shareholder law firm said it filed a federal lawsuit against JPMorgan and various bank officials over the trading loss and its effect on the bank's stock price. A JPMorgan spokeswoman had no immediate comment.

The news of the losses has wiped nearly $19 billion from JPMorgan's market capitalization in just two trading days and renewed the debate about financial regulation and the concept of being "too big to fail."

"This is the best, or one of the best managed banks. You could have a bank that isn't as strong, isn't as profitable making those same bets and we might have had to step in. That's exactly why Wall Street reform's so important," President Obama told ABC's "The View" in an interview taped to air Tuesday. The network released a partial transcript late Monday.