Largest US bank loses $5.8bn

JPMorgan Chase & Co, the biggest US bank, said it had lost $5.8bn (€4.7bn) in 2012 from disastrous credit bets and that traders might have tried to conceal the extent of the losses earlier this year.

Of the trading losses, €3.6bn came in the second quarter. However, the bank still generated nearly €4bn of overall profit for the period.

JPMorgan’s disclosure about traders misstating the value of their positions was the first indication that the problems with the company’s bad trades may have extended beyond bad judgment about markets.