In a development that would make Dostoevsky turn in his grave, we learn that the first three casualites of Fail-Whalegate have been identified.
From the WSJ [5]:
Three high-ranking officers are expected to leave J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. this week, said people familiar with the situation, in the latest fallout from a trading blunder that has cost the bank at least $2 billion.
Those leaving are Ina Drew, who since 2005 has run the risk-management unit that is responsible for the losses; Achilles Macris, who is in charge of the London-based desk that placed the trades; and trader Javier Martin-Artajo, a managing director on Mr. Macris’ team, the people said.
Ms. Drew has offered to resign multiple times and that request will likely be accepted this week, these people said. She is expected to leave as soon as Monday, the people said.
Trader Bruno Michel Iksil, nicknamed the "London Whale" for the big positions he took in credit markets on behalf of the risk-management unit called the chief investment office, is likely to depart as well, but it isn't yet clear when that will happen, said people familiar with the situation. Mr. Macris, Mr. Martin-Artajo and Mr. Iksil have all been stripped of trading responsibilities, added one of these people. All four executives declined comment through the company.
Ms. Drew initially tried to downplay the issues when the positions came to light in April, said people familiar with the situation, but once the scope of the losses became apparent she offered to resign, said people familiar with the situation.
Of course, if these three individuals had made money, instead of losing it, they would have received multi-million dollar bonuses and gotten promoted to positions of even greater (ir)responsibility, resulting in even greater potential future losses, and likely taxpayer bailouts.
Thank you Chairsatan put.
And a little more on Ina Drew, again from WSJ [6]:
Meet Ina R. Drew, the Chief Investment Officer at J.P. Morgan whose unit has suddenly found itself in a spotlight most wouldn’t envy.
The 55-year-old executive has been running the CIO since 2005, and been a long-time sidekick of CEO Jamie Dimon. She is currently a member of his closest circle of advisers, the operating committee.
She is also among the highest paid executives at the bank, making $15.5 million in 2011 and over $15.9 million in 2010. Both numbers would have put her among the top earning executives, behind only Dimon and Investment Bank head Jes Staley last year, according to a proxy filing. [7]
Fortune ranked her No. 8 on last year’s 25-highest paid women list. [7] Across Wall Street, she is among the highest ranking females. [7]And at J.P. Morgan, she is among the last top females at the bank, along with the head of asset management Mary Erdoes, after former top aide Heidi Miller departed.
In J.P. Morgan’s proxy filing this year, the compensation discussion says she “successfully accomplished her business and people agenda objectives for 2011 by creating shareholder value through risk management activities across a broad array of market sectors and currencies with the help of a very knowledgeable leadership team that Ms. Drew has developed over a long career in various locations around the globe.”
[Ina Drew] “loves crises” a fitting profile that is worth remembering today:
Her eyes light up at the mention of last summer’s European currency free-for-all and she breaks into a grin when talking about the 1987 stock market crash.
“Crises make markets volatile, increase the flow of funds and provide us with more information,” she says.
