JPMorgan Says It Will Replace 2 Million Credit Cards, Due To Breach

JPMorgan Chase says it will replace about 2 million of its customers credit cards because they were compromised in recent security breaches at major retailers.

NPR’s Yuki Noguchi reports the bank’s CEO Jamie Dimon said the problems on that front are likely not over. Yuki filed this report for our Newscast unit:

“When consumers’ personal information is stolen from a retailer, both the retail chain and the banks that issue credit cards stand to lose big money. The result is often that the two sides point fingers, and banks sue the retailers to recover the cost of replacing cards.

“Speaking on an earnings conference call, Dimon said cybersecurity will be an ongoing problem, but called on the two industries to work together on better prevention.

“The statement was made during the company’s fourth quarter earnings call. JPMorgan’s profits dropped, amid slow investment banking business and high legal expenses from three recent fraud-related settlements.”

NPR’s Chris Arnold reports that Dimon also said he had no plans to step down. The bank, if you remember, has been hit by a series of costly settlements with the U.S. government. Chris reports:

“Over roughly the past year, JPMorgan has been hit with $22 billion dollars in fines for allegedly illegal banking practices. In one case the bank acknowledged that it misrepresented the quality of bad-home-loans that it sold to investors. It’s also paying $2.6 billion over charges that it turned a blind eye Bernie Madoff’s ponzi scheme. Last year, the bank suffered the first-ever quarterly loss since Dimon took the helm.

“This time around, earnings were down 7 percent, but they still beat analysts expectations. And JPMorgan reported a profit of $5 billion. When asked if he would resign, Dimon told investors quote — “no, no, and no” but he also said that was up to the bank’s board of directors.”

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