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JPMorgan cancels Private Jet purchase

JPMorgan Chase, the global financial services firm, will be canceling its plans of purchasing new private jets and renovating its aircraft hangar. Those plans will have to wait until the company has paid the billions it borrowed from the US government.

Initially, the New York-based company planned on spending over $130 million to purchase tow corporate jets and to renovate a new hangar.

JPMorgan already has four jets, but intended to spend $120 million on two more jets and $18 million on the renovation of a new jet hangar in the outskirts of New York.

The company came under fire upon revelation that it was the recipient of $25 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) last fall.

CEO Jamie Dimon has emphasized that JPMorgan did not need the TARP rescue package. However, if the financial crisis lingers, said Dimon, the company will need to preserve capital and this is why it accepted the package. 

Despite cutting its dividends last month by 86 percent, JPMorgan is still regarded as one of the better-performing banks amid the economic crisis. The company edged out troubled competitors like Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual.

A JPMorgan spokesperson has confirmed that the company will no longer spend money to purchase the aircrafts and renovate the hangar until they have paid the TARP funds in full.