JPMorgan Chase & Co., moving to strengthen its risk-management process amid a harsh credit environment, said Monday it named Barry Zubrow as chief risk officer.
Zubrow, 54 years old, who previously was president of private-investment management firm ITB LLC and has been an advisor to New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, will oversee all risk management for JPMorgan, reporting to Chairman and Chief Executive Jamie Dimon.
The appointment fills a position that has been vacant for nearly a year, following the retirement of former chief risk officer Don Wilson.
Dimon said, "The chief risk officer function is a critical role for our company, and I'm thrilled that we've attracted someone of Barry's caliber and experience to this position."
Zubrow said he was "very excited about working with Jamie and other senior leaders to build on the firm's successes and to help make the company even stronger."
From 1979 to 2004, Zubrow held a variety of senior-level investment banking, credit and risk roles at Goldman Sachs Co. Before leaving the company he held the title of chief administrative officer.
The appointment comes a little over a week after giant Citigroup Inc. — which is reeling from mortgage-related losses — named Jorge A. Bermudez as its chief risk officer. Bermudez succeeded risk chief Dave Bushnell, a 22-year company veteran who will retire Dec. 31 but continue to advise Citigroup as a consultant.
For the third quarter, JPMorgan wrote down $339 million net of hedges to reflect declines in the value of its CDO warehouse and unsold positions. The New York financial-services firm has $1.5 billion in exposure to collateralized debt obligations, or CDOs, in its trading business, none of it related to subprime, Dimon said earlier this month.
Recently, JPMorgan shares were at $41.17, down 78 cents, or 1.9%.
