You See Recommendation To Break Up JPMorgan And Say 'Why?'; KBW Analyst Dreams Of World With Four Little JPMorgans And Says 'Why Not?'

JPMorgan Chase, the biggest U.S. bank by assets, would be worth 30 percent more if broken into its four business segments, an unlikely scenario, an analyst at Stifel Financial Corp.’s KBW unit said. JPMorgan’s businesses -- traditional banking, investment banking, asset management and private equity -- are separately worth $255.7 billion, KBW’s Christopher Mutascio said today in a note. That compares with the New York-based lender’s $197 billion market capitalization as of yesterday’s closing price. While the possibility of breaking up JPMorgan is “quite low,” it “could potentially result in substantial upside for current shareholders if the segments were valued like similar companies,” Mutascio wrote in the note. [Bloomberg]