At a Crain's New York forum this morning, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon told the audience that his bank had made $100 billion in loans since getting bailed out: "He immediately added, however, that banks have tightened credit because the recession has chilled demand for new loans. He also said banks are wary because of the huge losses they still face, reminding the audience that J.P. Morgan expects to lose $10 billion next year just from dud credit card loans." Dimon thinks the Fed should regulate all parts of the financial system and also defended bonuses to executives, pointing out many of his execs were given bonuses in JPMorgan stock, whose value has plummeted. Wonder what he thought of Paul Krugman's Bailouts for Bunglers column in the Times yesterday. more ›

The $350 billion second half of the federal government bank bailout—aka TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program)—funding was released by the Senate. According to the Wall Street Jounral, President-elect Barack Obama intends to "spend $50 billion to $100 billion on a 'sweeping' foreclosure-prevention effort" as well as "impose tougher restrictions on banks that receive government aid, including requirements on banks to lend money, increased restrictions on executive compensation and curtailed dividend payments for some firms." more ›