New City watchdog kicks off with £3m fine for JPMorgan

The new City watchdog issued a statement of intent today, slapping a £3 million fine on JPMorgan’s wealth management arm.

The chunky punishment from the Financial Conduct Authority — the replacement for the Financial Services Authority — was for “systems and controls failings” which “persisted for two years”.

The fine comes just days after JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon fended off a shareholder rebellion about his dual role as chairman and chief executive at the Wall Street giant.

The watchdog is likely to have taken a particularly dim view of the matter given that the FCA itself had to bring the issues to the bank’s attention as part of a review of wealth management firms and the advice they give.

Tracey McDermott, director of enforcement and financial crime, said: “Customers of wealth managers should be able to expect the firm to keep complete, up-to-date client records. In this case the firm did not have complete records, nor did management have the information needed.”