NEW YORK
NEW YORK — JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon plans to apologize before members of Congress on Wednesday for a trading loss of more than $2 billion and to say that the bank has taken steps to make sure it does not happen again.
“We have let a lot of people down, and we are sorry for it,” Mr. Dimon plans to tell the Senate banking committee, according to prepared testimony released Tuesday by the bank.
Mr. Dimon plans to say that JPMorgan Chase & Co. mounted a companywide strategy to reduce risk in December 2011, but that it backfired in one of the bank’s divisions by adding risk instead.
Mr. Dimon also plans to say that the bank has named a new leader to the division responsible for the loss, has established a risk committee and is conducting a review of what went wrong.
“While we can never say we won’t make mistakes - in fact, we know we will - we do believe this to be an isolated event,” Mr. Dimon said in the prepared testimony.
The trading loss has revived Democrats’ push for stricter oversight of Wall Street banks, and the Securities and Exchange Commission is reviewing the matter.
MICHIGAN
GM losses in Europe, pensions are biggest problems, CEO says
DETROIT — When General Motors Co. shareholders complained at their annual meeting about the company’s languishing stock price and the lack of a dividend, CEO Dan Akerson had answers for most of their questions.
The stock is down because of the company’s losses in Europe, its huge global pension liability and overall uncertainty about the economy, he told shareholders Tuesday. And GM is working to fix all the problems it can control, he said.
Mr. Akerson didn’t directly answer the dividend question. GM last paid a dividend in July 2008. It was cut as the company headed into bankruptcy protection.
Mr. Akerson ranked Europe at the top of GM’s problems, telling shareholders that the company is making progress there.
NEW YORK
Dell will pay stock dividends as it shifts business model
NEW YORK — Struggling computer maker Dell Inc. announced Tuesday it will use some of its cash stockpile to pay shareholder dividends as it pursues a shift to services.
Chairman and CEO Michael Dell told CNBC that in view of the PC maker’s cash position and a shift to a more diversified business model, “We feel confident this is a great time to return this capital to shareholders now in perpetuity.”
The company will pay 32 cents per share annually, amounting to an annual expense of $560 million, from a cash stockpile of $17.2 billion.
Jon Ogg of 24/7 Wall Street said the move was long overdue and follows similar moves by other tech firms, including Apple Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co.
“Dell has been part of our technology dividend sinners for quite some time,” Mr. Ogg said. “It is now finally changing its policies and will start to unlock that shareholder value by paying a dividend to its common shareholders.”
Dell shares rose 0.93 percent to $11.97 and added another 2.7 percent in after-hours trading. But the shares are down from over $30 in 2007.
The company said in a statement that it was taking steps to boost shareholder value through stock buybacks and the new dividend, and that it would be expanding its services to be more diversified.
• From wire dispatches and staff reports
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