Top JPMorgan banker quits after market abuse fine

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Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - One of London's most prominent bankers was fined 450,000 pounds for passing on inside information in a case that will embarrass his employer J.P. Morgan Cazenove and which marks a push by regulators to target high-profile figures.

Top "rainmaker" Ian Hannam resigned on Tuesday, to fight the fine imposed by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in relation to 2008 emails that contained information about one of his clients, Heritage Oil.

The gruff former special forces soldier, who rose from humble beginnings, is the fifth person to be fined in relation to improper disclosure this year by the regulator, which has previously been accused of being ineffectual in its fight against financial crime. Of the five, Hannam is the most prominent.

Hannam resigned from his position as JPMorgan's Global Chairman of Equity Capital Markets, after two decades at the firm, JPMorgan informed staff in an internal memo, which became the talk of the London financial world.

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/04/03/uk-jpmorgan-fsa-idUKBRE83208820120403

[DJ13]

1. Meanwhile, here in the US our regulators are......

[FarCenter]

2. Formerly with the British investment bank Robert Fleming, acquired by Chase Manhattan in 2000

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Fleming_%26_Co.

Scandal, crisis and restructuring

The Fleming name was tarnished by a scandal in 1996, when Jardine Fleming was ordered to pay $19 million to fund investors for alleged abusive and unsupervised securities allocation practices by asset management head Colin Armstrong. The 1997 Asian crisis severely hit both Robert Fleming and Jardine Fleming. Robert Fleming was forced to approve massive lay offs in late 1998. The firm restructured in 1999, buying the remaining 50% stake in Jardine Flemings in return for giving Jardine Matheson an 18% stake in Robert Flemings Holdings. However, despite these efforts, Flemings continued to see its investment banking and asset management market share decline as global investment banks like Morgan Stanley and Lazard moved into their markets.[3]

Sale to Chase

In April 2000, Robert Flemings Holdings was sold to Chase Manhattan Bank for $7.7 billion. Although the sale came about as partially as a result of Flemings’ weakened position, it was part of two larger trends: consolidation in the financial services industry as large U.S. commercial banks acquired investment banks upon the repeal of the Glass–Steagall Act, and the sale of UK merchant banks to foreign banks. Flemings, with almost no US assets, was considered a particularly good fit for increasingly globally minded Chase, whose assets lay largely in the United States. In the sale about 130 Fleming family members pocketed approximately $2.3 billion for their 30% stake. When Chase merged with J.P. Morgan & Co. in 2001, the Flemings asset management business was rebranded J.P. Morgan Fleming, and Fleming Premier Banking was sold to Abbey National's Cater Allen subsidiary.[4]


Also, from http://www.efinancialnews.com/story/2012-04-03/profile-ian-hannam-jp-morgan-cazenove-fsa-fine

However, not all his deals have ended smoothly. According to a Wall Street Journal blog, he also advised a group of Omani investors on a takeover attempt of Dow Chemical, holding secret meetings for them with two Dow executives at a luxury hotel on the bank of the Thames. When Bill Winters, who was then co-chief executive of JP Morgan, realised the board of Dow Chemical did not even know about the potential buyout, and that it would not lend the deal support, he immediately ended the bank’s involvement. [ http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2008/06/03/banking-ethics-202-jp-morgan-and-dow-chemical/ ]

[DeSwiss]

3. More to come.....

''But make no mistake: the weeds will win; nature bats last.'' ~Robert M. Pyle


- K&R