The controversial unit at the centre of JPMorgan’s $2bn trading loss has built up positions worth more than $100bn in asset-backed securities and structured products – the complex, risky bonds at the centre of the financial crisis in 2008.
These holdings are in addition to those in credit derivatives which led to losses and have already mired the bank in controversy.
The unit, known as the chief investment office (CIO), has been the biggest buyer of European mortgage-backed bonds and other complex debt securities such as collateralised loan obligations in all markets for three years, more than a dozen senior traders and credit experts have told the Financial Times.