Obama has two JPMorgan accounts, financial disclosures show

By Jim Puzzanghera

May 16, 2012 12 AM PT

When it comes to JPMorgan Chase & Co., President Obama puts his money where his mouth is.

Despite the bank’s $2-billion trading loss, Obama this week said JPMorgan is “one of the best-managed banks there is” and called Chief Executive Jamie Dimon “one of the smartest bankers.”

Obama’s 2011 financial disclosure form backed up that view.

Obama parks a sizable chunk of his money in two JPMorgan accounts. He has a Private Client Asset Management checking account valued from $500,001 to $1 million, and a regular checking account with between $1,001 and $15,000, according to the form, which was released by the White House on Tuesday.

Overall, Obama’s assets were valued at between $2.6 million and $8.3 million.

He cited the bank’s stellar reputation when he asserted that the huge trading loss showed the need for tough implementation of the 2010 financial reform law.

“Think about it -- this is one of the best-managed banks,” Obama said Tuesday on ABC’s “The View.” “You could have a bank that isn’t as strong, isn’t as profitable making those same bets and we might have had to step in, and that’s exactly why Wall Street reform is so important.”

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