President Barack Obama warns the huge trading loss at JPMorgan Chase illustrates the need for banking reform and said that the same error at a less stable bank would have required government intervention.
The US banking conglomerate suffered $2bn (£1.24bn) of losses as a result of risky derivative trades and hedges, wiping $14.4bn from the bank's value.
The President on ABC's The View, a popular US daytime talk show aimed at women, said that the massive trading loss highlighed the need for banking reform.
"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," the President said.
"We don't know all the details. It's going to be investigated, but this is why we passed Wall Street reform," Obama said. The programme was taped on Monday in New York and will air tonight.
Wall Street reform was one of Mr Obama's signature domestic policy achievements, but he has faced opposition in trying to implement and enforce it.
"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 [the government] might have had to step in, and that's exactly why Wall Street reform's so important."
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