NEW YORK, Feb 19, 2026, 15:40 (EST) — Regular session.
- JPMorgan shares down about 0.5% late Thursday, outperforming a broader slide in financials
- ECB fined JPMorgan’s European arm 12.18 million euros over capital reporting errors
- Investors look to Friday’s PCE inflation data for clues on Fed rate-cut timing
JPMorgan Chase & Co shares edged lower on Thursday afternoon, with investors weighing a fresh regulatory fine in Europe and a soft tape for financial stocks. JPM was down $1.58, or 0.5%, at $307.20 by 3:40 p.m. EST after trading between $305.00 and $309.31.
The move comes as credit nerves flare again on Wall Street. Private capital firm Blue Owl said it was selling $1.4 billion of assets and permanently halting redemptions at one of its funds, a headline that renewed questions about credit quality and who is holding what risk. Economist Mohamed El-Erian called it a potential “canary-in-the-coalmine” moment for some investors. (Reuters)
Rates are the other live wire. U.S. jobless claims fell more than expected last week, and minutes from the Federal Reserve’s late-January meeting said most officials saw “some signs of stabilization” in the labor market — language traders watch because it can change the outlook for cuts. Banks’ earnings are tied to the gap between what they pay on deposits and what they earn on loans, so even small shifts in rate expectations can move the group. (Reuters)
JPM’s dip was smaller than some big-bank peers. Bank of America fell 1.6%, Wells Fargo dropped 1.1% and Citigroup slid 0.7%, while the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF was down about 1.1%.
In Europe, the European Central Bank said it fined JPMorgan’s European arm 12.18 million euros ($14.32 million) for misreporting capital requirements after it wrongly calculated risk-weighted assets — a regulatory measure that adjusts a bank’s assets for risk to help set required capital levels. The ECB said the bank reported lower risk-weighted assets than it should have between 2019 and 2024, including by misclassifying some corporate exposures for 15 consecutive quarters. JPMorgan said it acknowledged the fine, had self-reported the issues and fully remediated them, adding that its capital buffers remain strong. (Reuters)
The bank also drew attention on Wednesday after its Chase unit said it plans to open more than 160 branches in over 30 states in 2026 and renovate nearly 600 locations as part of a multibillion-dollar push. “Every Chase branch is a reflection of its neighborhood,” Jennifer Roberts, CEO of Chase Consumer Banking, said in the announcement. (Chase Media Center)
JPMorgan made a separate leadership move this week in its deal-financing business. The bank appointed veteran Catherine O’Donnell to head North America leveraged finance — the unit that arranges debt funding for highly indebted borrowers and big takeovers — effective later this year, Reuters reported. (Reuters)
Another headline risk surfaced early Thursday. JPMorgan is in talks to provide banking services to the U.S.-led Board of Peace, an institution tasked with rebuilding Gaza, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the discussions; Reuters said it could not immediately verify the report and that JPMorgan and the White House did not respond to requests for comment. (Reuters)
The broader market was lower, with the S&P 500 down 0.40% and financials leading sector declines, off 1.35%, according to Reuters. (Reuters)
Still, the downside case for JPM and the sector is not hard to sketch. If stress in private credit and direct lending forces more asset sales or hits confidence, that can tighten financing conditions and revive worries about losses in pockets of the market that have been hard to value.
The next clear catalyst is Friday’s U.S. Personal Income and Outlays release at 8:30 a.m. ET, which includes the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index — the inflation gauge the Fed leans on most. (Bea)
