WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Monday the huge trading loss at JPMorgan Chase & Co illustrated the need for Wall Street reform and the same kind of an error at a less stable bank may have required government intervention.
"JPMorgan is one of the best managed banks there is. Jamie Dimon, the head of it, is one of the smartest bankers we got and they still lost $2 billion and counting," Obama said on ABC's "The View," according to a transcript released by the network.
"We don't know all the details. It's going to be investigated, but this is why we passed Wall Street reform," Obama said.
Wall Street reform was one of Obama's signature domestic policy achievements, but he has faced opposition in trying to enforce it.
Obama said in the interview that he was still fighting for tough reform.
"This is the best, or one of the best managed banks. You could have a bank that isn't as strong, isn't as profitable making those same bets and we (the government) might have had to step in," Obama said. "That's exactly why Wall Street reform's so important."
(Reporting by Jeff Mason)