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Answer: A poor risk culture enabled by failures in corporate governance.
## Explanation The J.P. Morgan "London Whale" case in 2012 revealed fundamental failures in risk governance and culture. The root cause was not merely technical valuation issues or reliance on specific metrics, but rather: - **Poor risk culture**: Traders were able to take massive positions masquerading as hedges without proper oversight - **Governance failures**: Inadequate controls, lack of transparency, and failure of internal risk management systems - **Cultural issues**: The environment allowed excessive risk-taking to persist despite warning signs While options C and D describe contributing factors, they don't capture the fundamental organizational and cultural problems that enabled the massive losses. The case demonstrated that even sophisticated institutions can suffer catastrophic failures when risk culture and governance are weak.
Author: LeetQuiz Editorial Team
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During the first half of 2012, J.P. Morgan Chase lost billions of dollars from an exposure to a massive credit derivatives portfolio in its office, the notorious nickname for Bruno Iksil, who assumed massive exposures (masquerading as hedges) in a large credit derivative portfolio. Which of the following BEST summarizes the root cause of the debacle?
A
Disclose the high risk assets in the SCP to reduce its Risk Weighted Assets (RWA).
B
A poor risk culture enabled by failures in corporate governance.
C
The chief investment officer (CIO) lacked the sophistication to correctly value certain credit derivatives.
D
The chief investment officer (CIO) used only one metric, value at risk (VaR), an overreliance owing to JPM's pioneering use of VaR.
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