Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker was the first in Congress to call for a hearing to understand the recent $2 billion loss reported by JPMorgan.
The call by Sen. Corker, who serves on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, coupled with his earned credibility during his tenure, was a serious request that will result in answers.
In interviews with CNBC, Corker demonstrated one of the reasons for his credibility. In contrast to jumping on an immediate political opportunity to capture headlines with sensational claims, Corker drilled the common sense of leadership into the situation with his remarks: “I’d like for us to be dealing with reality instead of myth and perception. I just want to make sure we have a good policy outcome here.”
The JPMorgan loss comes as Congress continues deliberations on the proposed Volcker Rule being drafted with the intent of preventing banking institutions from taking excessive risks. The loss also occured with 40 regulators from the Federal Reserve embedded within the company.
Yet, doing due diligence, Sen. Corker’s staff spoke with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency bank examiner who actually is tasked with oversight of JPMorgan.