JPM CEO says Wall St. losses not due to accounting

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon speaks at the 50th annual Investment Company Institute (ICI) general membership meeting in Washington May 8, 2008.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), on Tuesday took aim at top Wall Street executives who claim the recent credit crisis and widespread bank loses were mainly due to accounting changes requiring extensive markdowns.

In an interview with Charlie Rose aired Tuesday on PBS, Dimon said, "It was not an accounting issue, okay?...The people who made the mistakes are to blame."

In the second part of a wide-ranging interview, Dimon said the regulatory systems covering the financial world need tightening in the wake of billions of dollars in losses at financial institutions in recent quarters.

"We need to do some serious work to try to avoid getting into this serious problem again," Dimon told Rose.

He also suggested that the next president should be prepared for a continuation of the existing problems facing the economy.

"I think the new president has to be prepared for dealing with a serious downturn," said Dimon. "And if we don't get our hands around this energy issue, we could severely damage the future health of the United States."

Dimon, who is a Democrat, also called for tax changes to make the system more "egalitarian."

"I think there is nothing wrong with taxing the wealthy a little bit more and having a more egalitarian society," said Dimon.

(Reporting by Dane Hamilton)