JPMorgan Sold Most of 'London Whale' Position

JPMorgan Chase & Co has sold as much as 70 percent of the controversial position that caused huge trading losses for the bank, CNBC reported on Wednesday.

JPMorgan Chase & Co has sold as much as 70 percent of the controversial position that caused huge trading losses for the bank, CNBC reported on Wednesday.

The television network said the bank had sold 65 percent to 70 percent of the so-called London Whale position, a hedging strategy gone so wrong that in early May JPMorgan conceded it had already lost $2 billion.

JPMorgan said this week that it will detail the size of the loss and the status of the position on July 13 when it reports earnings for the second quarter. The bank said it will hold a webcast conference call with analysts that day that could last two hours, starting at 7:30 a.m. in New York.

Chief Executive Jamie Dimon has declined since announcing the loss on May 10 to provide specific updates on the position for fear of giving other traders an advantage. He has said the bank has made progress in containing the loss, which some analysts have estimated could reach $5 billion.

Since that disclosure, JPMorgan shares have shed more than 11 percent of their value, wiping $17.9 billion off their market capitalization.

A JPMorgan spokesman declined to comment on the CNBC report.

The report came one day after Dimon, in congressional testimony, said the company was being honest with investors about its losses.

(Reporting By Ben Berkowitz and David Henry.; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Kenneth Barry)

Copyright 2012 by Reuters. All rights reserved.