JP Morgan's chairman of Australian operations has resigned from his directorships at the country's bourse and sovereign wealth fund citing complications arising from a criminal prosecution over a stock issue the investment bank was joint-lead on.
In an unprecedented move, Australian authorities earlier this month charged Citigroup Inc, Deutsche Bank AG, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ) and several executives with criminal cartel offences over the $2.3 billion capital raising in 2015.
JP Morgan Australia Chairman Robert Priestley said he had stepped aside as the issue could become a distraction, even though JP Morgan had not been named in the criminal cartel lawsuit.
"It is likely that this matter will take some time to resolve, and as there are limits to the information that can be discussed at this time, I think the right course of action in these circumstances is to step aside from the ASX board to allow the situation to be fully resolved," Priestley said in a statement.