SEC censures JPMorgan over disqualified swap trader

The US Securities and Exchange Commission issued a cease-and-desist order on October 2, 2026, censuring JPMorgan Chase and its securities unit. The regulator determined that the bank failed to establish and maintain a supervisory system to detect a legally disqualified trader handling security-based swaps.

The order did not impose a financial penalty, crediting the bank's self-reporting and corrective measures. JPMorgan did not admit to the findings, and a bank spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

UK authorities, now operating as the Financial Conduct Authority, fined the employee in 2011 for failing to report potential insider trading by clients. While UK regulators noted the conduct was neither deliberate nor reckless and did not question the person's integrity, foreign sanctions barred them from trading in the US without special regulatory relief.

JPMorgan secured the required waiver in March 2024. Prior to that approval, the employee conducted 100 security-based swap transactions involving US counterparties and supervised sales traders who carried out at least 700 transactions between late 2021 and early 2024.