U.S. Treasury Secretary Besant once again publicly criticized Wall Street investment bank analysts, this time targeting JPMorgan Chase.
On March 6, according to Bloomberg, JPMorgan analysts assessed in a report that the U.S. government's International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is far from capable of covering the actual risks of insuring oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, implying that the agency's &#34;firepower is too weak.&#34;
<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://wpimg-wscn.awtmt.com/c312e37c-c5cc-42ef-a57e-8b0ff54579a7.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://wpimg-wscn.awtmt.com/c312e37c-c5cc-42ef-a57e-8b0ff54579a7.png"/>
Besant immediately retaliated on Fox Business Channel, stating that the report is &#34;terrible,&#34; a &#34;completely irresponsible&#34; analysis, and is based on a &#34;completely erroneous assumption.&#34; This statement marks the second time in less than two months that Besant has publicly criticized Wall Street investment bank analysts.
The background of the event is that the Trump administration is actively promoting the restoration of shipping order in the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier this week, Trump ordered the DFC to provide reasonably priced insurance for oil tankers in the Persian Gulf to ensure trade flow. On Friday, the White House further announced a $20 billion reinsurance plan aimed at revitalizing shipping activities in the Strait of Hormuz.
<h2>JPMorgan Report: DFC's Capability is &#34;a Drop in the Bucket&#34;</h2>
According to Bloomberg, JPMorgan analysts Natasha Kaneva and others quantified the DFC's insurance capabilities in a report released on Wednesday.
The report estimates that the DFC has about $154 billion of remaining capacity under its current loan limit. Meanwhile, analysts calculated that the &#34;maximum insurance gap&#34; in the Persian Gulf region that &#34;the private market currently cannot provide&#34; is approximately $352 billion. In comparison, the DFC's available funds are far below the potential risk exposure, leading the report to conclude that the DFC's &#34;firepower&#34; is &#34;too small&#34; to address the risks from Iran.
<h2>Besant's Counterattack: The Assumptions are Fundamentally Flawed</h2>
Besant fundamentally questioned the above analysis. He stated on Fox Business Channel, &#34;I can't tell you how wrong that is,&#34; and directly labeled the report as &#34;a bad report&#34; and &#34;completely irresponsible.&#34;
Besant's core rebuttal logic is that: the DFC's insurance coverage does not need to extend beyond the point where tankers leave the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf region.
He explained, &#34;Once the ships leave the strait and exit the Gulf region, they can revert to regular insurance—so (JPMorgan's calculations) are completely based on a false assumption.&#34;
In other words, Besant believes that JPMorgan overextended the coverage area when calculating the insurance gap, leading to a significantly inflated figure.
<h2>Ongoing Friction Between Besant and Wall Street</h2>
This attack on JPMorgan is not Besant's first public confrontation with Wall Street analysts. According to Bloomberg, less than two months ago, Besant publicly criticized an analyst from Deutsche Bank.
The analyst wrote in a report that, given Trump's threats regarding Greenland, Europe might reduce its willingness to hold U.S. assets, to which Besant strongly refuted
Both confrontations point to the same pattern: When Wall Street analysts question the Trump administration's policy stance or execution capabilities, Bencet chooses to respond directly in public rather than through conventional channels.
This approach has created rare public tension between the Treasury Secretary and investment banks, and has kept the market highly attentive to the methods of policy communication.
<h2>$20 Billion Reinsurance Plan Launched</h2>
On the same day that Bencet made the above criticisms, the Trump administration announced a $20 billion reinsurance plan to respond to concerns about shipping risks in the Strait of Hormuz, according to an article from Wall Street Watch.
Before the DFC's reinsurance plan was introduced, President Trump announced this Tuesday that he had instructed the DFC to provide political risk insurance and financial security guarantees for &#34;all maritime trade passing through the Gulf, especially energy trade, at a 'very reasonable price',&#34; with a focus on energy trade.
Analysts believe that this move directly addresses the regional tensions arising from the U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran and the subsequent retaliatory actions taken by Tehran, as well as the resulting impairment of the commercial shipping insurance market

FNCL

JP Morgan reported that the funding from the U.S. DFC for insuring oil tankers in the Gulf is far from sufficient to address the risks posed by Iran. Bessent angrily criticized the report as "extremely irresponsible" and based on incorrect assumptions, pointing out that ships can resume regular insurance once they leave the Gulf, and the risk gap is severely overestimated. Less than two months ago, Bessent publicly criticized an analyst from Deutsche Bank

- U.S. Treasury Secretary Bescent criticized JPMorgan analysts for a report deeming the DFC's insurance coverage for Gulf tankers insufficient.  
- He argued the report was based on incorrect assumptions, claiming DFC's coverage does not need to extend beyond the Strait of Hormuz.  
- This public dispute, part of ongoing tensions between Bescent and Wall Street analysts, highlights the government's response to shipping risks in the region, alongside a new $20 billion reinsurance plan to enhance maritime trade safety.

Wallstreetcn

Fidelity MSCI Financials Index

JPMorgan Chase

VG Financial

Defiance Daily Target 2X Long JPM ETF

Investment bank report "causes trouble again," Besant angrily criticizes JP Morgan, which claims that U.S. ship insurance "is insufficient to cope with Iranian risks."