Wall Street in the Rough #JPMC

Sans Dimon, Wall Street in the rough -- JPMorgan Chase resumes political giving -- Buffett doubting public finances? -- Iran's financial plan

By PATRICK REIS | 08/21/12 5:39 AM EDT

preis@politico.com @Patrick_C_Reis
SANS DIMON, WALL STREET IN THE ROUGH: Bloomberg’s Dawn Kopecki: “Wall Street, the global financial community reeling from public outrage and increased regulation, is proving incapable of finding a champion to replace sidelined JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon. Dimon, 56, one of the industry’s most forceful advocates, has lost stature as his bank, the largest in the U.S. by assets, juggles multiple investigations and a $5.8 billion trading loss on wrong-way bets on credit derivatives. His peers at other big lenders are hobbled by poor performance, tarnished reputations or a reluctance to step into the breach. Bankers across the Atlantic, including former Barclays Plc (BCS) CEO Robert Diamond and Peter Sands of Standard Chartered Plc (STAN), have been muted by allegations that their firms rigged interest rates or were involved in money laundering. ...
“That means the industry is without an advocate to resist the most vigorous onslaught of regulations since Congress separated investment and commercial banking with the Glass- Steagall Act in 1933. It coincides with the lowest level of consumer confidence in U.S. banks since Gallup Inc. began polling on the question in 1979. The percentage of Americans saying they had a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence dropped to 21 percent in June from 41 percent in 2007 and more than 60 percent in 1980.”
And they’re backing Romney… “Wall Street banks have shifted their allegiance this campaign cycle to Republicans who fought the regulations passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama. Four years ago, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.employees gave three-fourths of their campaign donations to Democrats, including Obama. This time, they’re showering 70 percent of their contributions on Republicans, according to Center for Responsive Politics data through June 30 compiled by Bloomberg. bloom.bg/Nh6y4t
JPMORGAN CHASE RESUMES POLITICAL GIVING: POLITICO’s Dave “Cash-Money” Levinthal: “JPMorgan Chase’s political action committee is back from self-imposed exile. The committee on July 31 made donations to 10 congressional leadership PACs — the first federal-level donations the embattled company’s normally active PAC has made since early May, according to campaign finance documents filed Monday. The PAC’s series of four-figure contributions, together worth $36,000, went to leadership PACs operated by Sens. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Pat Roberts (R-Kansas), and Reps. John Carney (D-Del.), Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.), Patrick Tiberi (R-Ohio), Ron Kind (D-Wis.), Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) and Scott Garrett (R-N.J.).”