JP Morgan has increased spending on regulatory-related technology by more than a quarter over the past couple of years but is still bracing itself for more legal tangles, says CEO Jamie Dimon.
The bank is on the verge of agreeing an $800 million settlement related to the $6.2 billion 'London Whale' trading loss that emerged last year.
In a memo to staff, Dimon says that "if you don't acknowledge mistakes, you can't fix them and learn from them", adding that JP Morgan's number one priority is its control agenda and that it is working to make sure that systems, practices, technology and culture "meet the highest standards".
To this end, total spend on controls has been upped by around $1 billion this year, with 3000 new employees hired in areas such as IT, risk, compliance and legal in 2013.
Technology spending has been increased by 27% since 2011 and the bank has built a state-of-the-art control room at its corporate HQ to provide streamlined data analysis and reporting capabilities of risk data across the firm.
The firm is also taking steps to cut the number of outside vendors it uses and improve oversight of those it keeps on.
In the memo, Dimon says: "Adjusting to the new regulatory environment will require an enormous amount of time, effort and resources. We fully intend to follow the letter and spirit of every rule and requirement."