JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) is adding fuel to the fire for Bloomberg reporters, alleging that they used some of their terminals to spy on them. The allegations come not long after Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) made similar allegations against Bloomberg reporters. This latest report from JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) was reported first by Business Insider’s Julia La Roche.
The allegations includes the use of Bloomberg terminal accounts. A number of Wall Street firms pay Bloomberg millions of dollars every year for these terminal accounts which are then used by the firms’ employees. Bloomberg then tracks the activity of the users. Those with access to the systems can see clients logging on and off and view the types of search functions they utilize.
Allegations Of Spying During The London Whale Incident
Two sources have apparently told La Roche that Bloomberg reporters use private client data on the terminals for their stories about the London Whale incident involving JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM). Reporters at Bloomberg were the first to report that traders at JPMorgan’s London office made a large bet on credit derivatives and that the bet was so large that it was creating market distortions. In addition, Bloomberg was the first to release the trader’s name: Bruno Iksil, known as the London Whale.
JPMorgan (JPM) Believes Bloomberg Used Private Login Data
Sources at JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) said at the very least, they believe reports with Bloomberg used private login data on the Bloomberg terminal to figure out that Iksil had left the firm. They allege that Bloomberg reporters noticed that Iksil hadn’t logged into his account for quite some time and then confronted JPMorgan with it to ask whether he had left the firm.
Apparently reports with Bloomberg had done similar things with other traders, calling them on their personal phones, telling them that they had noticed they hadn’t logged in in a while, and asking them if they were still with the firm.
