WASHINGTON ¨C On March 14, 2011, Blythe Masters, head of JPMorgan Chase¡¯s global commodities group, asked one of her top deputies why California power officials were making ominous inquiries into the bank¡¯s arcane and lucrative business of selling electricity. Five months earlier, Masters had been given a spreadsheet predicting that this line of business would generate profits of $1.5 billion to $2 billion by 2018.
Francis Dunleavy, the Houston-based executive in charge, replied in an email that he would handle the matter, but added that ¡°it may not be pretty.¡±
On Tuesday, JPMorgan Chase agreed to a record $410 million settlement of accusations by government regulators of manipulating electricity prices in California and the Midwest.
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