JPMorgan’s Masters Said to Have Angled to Be CEO in Sale
When JPMorgan Chase & Co. set out to sell its powerhouse commodities unit, the group’s boss, Blythe Masters, made it clear that she wanted to go along with the business and continue as its chief.
The strategy, as described by a person directly involved, didn’t work out. After a $3.5 billion sale was announced last month, Masters, 45, one of the most senior women on Wall Street, announced her departure from JPMorgan. Masters told others that she would no longer have the same standing in the executive ranks after the sale, according to two people involved in the auction process. She also had no plans to join the unit’s purchaser, Geneva-based Mercuria Energy Group Ltd.
Her future may be cloudy for another reason. Masters is under investigation by federal prosecutors in Manhattan, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. That probe was opened following a settlement with regulators that alleged JPMorgan manipulated power markets in the Midwest and California, the people said. JPMorgan settled without admitting or denying wrongdoing in the regulatory matter, and there’s no sign the remaining probe has advanced beyond a preliminary stage.
The existence of a probe surrounding JPMorgan’s role in the energy market has been known since August, when it was reported by several news organizations, including Bloomberg News, and subsequently disclosed by the New York-based bank. What wasn’t known was prosecutors’ interest in Masters....MORE
