JPMorgan won't pile in on Goldman's misery

Most market watchers will be aware by now of the open letter sent to the New York Times on Wednesday by former Goldman Sachs banker Greg Smith. It accused his former employers of contempt for clients.

The middle-ranking equities salesman said senior staff often referred to clients as "muppets" and used phrases like "rip their eyeballs out".

For a company at which reputation matters so much, this was an earthquake. It now appears, however, that at least one of their rivals, JPMorgan, is not looking to cash in on Goldman's misery.

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The Financial Times reported that JPMorgan's long-standing Chief Executive, Jamie Dimon, emailed his executive committee saying "I don't want anyone here to seek advantage from a competitor's alleged issues or hearsay - ever".

Dimon no doubt believes what he wrote. But there might well be concern in the investment banking industry that the reputational damage from Wednesday's letter will extend to the investment banking industry as a whole.

People might be thinking Goldman is not uniquely ruthless but Mr Dimon wants to be clear: nothing could be further from the truth.

BS