JPMorgan Chase will wind down its proprietary-trading operations;  about 20 commodities traders were told their jobs were being eliminated.  The bank hasn't focused much on prop trading, but its small prop-trading desks are nonetheless affected by the Dodd-Frank Reform Act, particularly by what's known as the "Volcker Rule," which curtails proprietary trading, private equity and other investments at banks. 

JPMorgan has decided to exit from all prop trading - and that includes its commodities trading desk in London, which was one of the largest such trading desks at the bank.  The status of the other proprietary-trading desks is unclear, but they, too, have been or will be closed, a source in the bank said.  The bank is expanding trading and its other capital-markets business elsewhere.

Citigroup Inc. sold Phibro, its proprietary-commodities business, last October. Other companies with considerably larger prop-trading operations, such as Goldman Sachs, still are considering what to with those businesses.  Among Goldman's options:  transfer the desk to its asset-management unit, wind down the portfolio;  seed a hedge fund that would take over the operations.  [WSJournal, 9/1]