JP Morgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) may halt plans to acquire the North American operations of Sempra Commodities LLP after President Obama announced that he would seek to stop banks from engaging in proprietary trading activities, according to several sources.
JP Morgan will likely redirect the money and focus on buying the company’s European division instead. The anonymous sources said the talks are private but are continuing.
President Obama said last month that he would seek to curb the size of banks and limit their ability to trade for their own benefit as a way to reduce risk-taking and prevent a repeat of the financial crisis. JP Morgan received $25 billion under the Troubled Asset Relief Program in October 2008. JP Morgan was one of the first to repay its TARP debt in June of 2009.
Royal Bank of Scotland Group is being forced by the European Union to sell its stake in Sempra after receiving a $72 billion taxpayer funded bailout. The Sempra venture took in offers from Deutsche Bank AG, Germany’s largest bank and Macquaire Group Ltd of Australia.
Royal Bank of Scotland officials in Edinburgh declined to commented on the story.
