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JPMorgan chief not worried by energy trading ban

Jamie Dimon says ban on selling electricity at competitive market rates is 'not that big a deal'

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• Reuters in New York
• The Guardian, Wednesday 12 December 2012 17.38 EST

JPMorgan's chief executive, Jamie Dimon: 'My experience in life is that regulators always win anyway.' Photograph: Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images

A six-month electricity trading ban imposed on JPMorgan Chase & Co by federal energy regulators is "not that big a deal", chief executive Jamie Dimon said on Wednesday.

The ban, which will prevent the bank from selling electricity at competitive market rates, is one of the most serious punishments that can be levied by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. "I'm not worried about it," Dimon said, adding that it would not have an economic impact on the bank.

Dimon said JPMorgan would continue to fight the ban. "We think we're entitled to, when they're wrong, to fight it, you know, legitimately. That's what courts are for," he said.

But Dimon, who recently estimated the bank's annual regulation tab at more than $1bn, seemed resigned to eventually losing the fight. "My experience in life is that regulators always win anyway," he said.

Besides JPMorgan, FERC has also charged Barclays Bank Plc and Deutsche Bank AG with alleged power market manipulation in the United States. It has proposed a record $470 million fine for Barclays and is seeking $1.5 million from Deutsche Bank.