J.P. Morgan Chase’s CFO on Friday said the bank has identified a few instances of problems with its employees’ cross-selling practices, but added that the problems discovered weren’t “systemic.” J.P. Morgan’s financial chief, Marianne Lake, during a call to discuss its quarterly results with the media, said the bank conducted a “deep dive” into its sales practice in the aftermath of a fake-account scandal that resulted in Wells Fargo & Co.’s CEO John Stumpf retiring on Wednesday. For J.P. Morgan’s part, the bank conducts regular reviews of its sales tactics but acknowledged that a recent look into its employee-incentive programs and sales techniques was a direct response to the public uproar over Wells Fargo’scandal. She said J.P. Morgan’s issues didn’t rise to the level where the bank would be concerned about widespread problems at its retail bank branches. “We can’t have zero defects…if we find someone who’s abusing our code of conduct we will take action,” she said. Wells Fargo faces federal and state probes after it agreed last month to pay a $185 million fine to settle charges that its employees opened as many as 2 million unauthorized accounts, often using fake names to meet sale goals. The San Francisco bank, and its new CEO Tim Sloan, are expected to offer more details on its strategy to restore its reputation when it conducts an earnings call with analyst at 10 a.m. Eastern Time Friday. But its sales practices have brought to light concerns about banks’ high-pressure sales practices, which offer richer bonuses to staff who have sold the highest number of products and services to clients.
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