J.P. Morgan – the man and the bank

Posted by Jim Hightower

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J.P. Morgan was recently socked in the wallet by financial regulators, who levied a fine of nearly a billion bucks against the Wall Street baron for massive illegalities.

Well, not a fine against John Pierpont Morgan, the man. This 19th century robber baron was born to a great banking fortune and, by hook and crook, leveraged it to become the "King of American Finance." During the Gilded Age, Morgan cornered the U.S. financial markets, gained monopoly ownership of railroads, amassed a vast supply of the nation's gold, and used his investment power to create US Steel and take control of that market.

From his earliest days in high finance, Morgan was a hustler who often traded on the shady side. In the Civil War, for example, his family bought his way out of military duty, but he saw another way to serve. Himself, that is. Morgan bought defective rifles for $3.50 each and sold them to a Union general for $22 each. The rifles blew off soldiers' thumbs, but Morgan pleaded ignorance, and government investigators graciously absolved the young, wealthy, well-connected financier of any fault.

That seems to have set a pattern for his lifetime of antitrust violations, union busting, and other over-the-edge profiteering practices. He drew numerous official charges – but of course, he never did any jail time.

Moving the clock forward, we come to JPMorgan Chase, today's financial powerhouse bearing J.P.'s name. The bank also inherited his pattern of committing multiple illegalities – and walking away scot free. Oh sure, the bank was hit with that big fine, but not a single one of the top bankers who committed gross wrongdoing were charged or even fired – much less sent to jail.

Banks don't commit crimes. Bankers do. And they won't ever stop if they don't have to pay for their crimes.

"Once Again, Punish the Bank but Not Its Top Executives," The New York Times, September 20, 2013
"As Inquiries Persist, JPMorgan Loses Favor," The New York Times, September 20, 2013.
"JP Morgan's Legal Hurdles Expected to Multiply," The New York Times, September 24, 2013.
"JPMorgan is fined $920m over London Whale fiasco," Financial Times, September 20, 2013.