Queen of Wall Street quits as JP Morgan clears the decks
JP MORGAN cleared out the entire senior team in its chief investment office (CIO) last night after Ina Drew, one of Wall Street’s most powerful women, quit the bank over $2bn (£1.24bn) in hedging losses.
According to an internal memo seen by City A.M., Achilles Macris, who led the trading desk that placed the bank’s disastrous hedges, will “transition his CIO responsibilities” – meaning he will be effectively removed from day-to-day responsibilities, although it is not clear if he will immediately quit the bank.
And three new executives will join the CIO, including Rob O’Rahilly as head of CIO in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The news came after Ina Drew, who was chief investment officer, quit over the losses and was replaced by Matt Zames, known as the bank’s “Mr Fix-It” after taking on JP Morgan’s US mortgages portfolio post-2008.
Zames sent the memo last night, in which he also tried to rally staff: “I am proud of the firm’s efforts over the past several days to address our mistakes and pleased to join the dedicated employees in our CIO today,” he wrote, promising “a sharp, renewed focus on our hedging strategies, risk management and execution”.
He added: “JPMorgan Chase will come out of this experience as a stronger firm.”