JPMorgan Picks Panel for 'Whale' Inquiry

JPMorgan Chase & Co has picked Lee Raymond, ex-chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corp , to head an inquiry by company directors into losses in a credit derivative portfolio run by its London-based Chief Investment Office, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The company's board also appointed fellow directors William Weldon, chairman of Johnson & Johnson, and real estate developer Laban Jackson to the inquiry panel.

Raymond, 73, was CEO and chairman of Exxon from 1993 to 2005 and already holds the position of "presiding director" of the JPMorgan board.

The assignments were made in May, but were reported on Monday by the Wall Street Journal.

The panel, which will double-check the previous findings of management and interview company employees where necessary, is not expected to complete its review until late fall or early winter, the sources told the Journal.

JPMorgan said on Aug. 9 that it hoped to restart its stock buyback program in the first quarter, roughly three months later than the goal CEO Jamie Dimon announced in July. Before the bank can resume repurchases, regulators must approve them, and the board must complete its review of the trading debacle.

JPMorgan, whose $2.29 trillion of assets make it the biggest U.S.-based bank, has been fighting to reclaim its reputation after the Chief Investment Office built up a massive credit derivatives portfolio that had trading losses of nearly $6 billion.

The losses from the bets, known as the "London Whale" trades after the nickname of one of the CIO's traders, were a huge blow for Dimon, long praised for his risk-management skills.