JP Morgan settlement a step forward, says senior law professor

A senior law professor says JP Morgan's settlement over the 'London Whale' trades is a "step forward."

Professor John Coffee, director of the Center on Corporate Governance at Columbia University Law School, said it was the first time an American financial institution had admitted wrongdoing as part of a civil settlement.

But Professor Coffee called it "paradoxical" that the shareholders who lost $6.2 billion after the trades (£3.9b) will lose out again after the company was fined $920m (£572m).

Professor Coffee also said governments on both sides of the Atlantic should identify "responsible individuals above the junior level."