145;Wall St banks face systemic credit crunch146;

Wall Street banks are facing a 8220;systemic margin call8221; that may deplete banks of 325 billion of capital due to deteriorating subprime US mortgages, JPMorgan Chase 038; Co, has said in a report. JPMorgan, which sent a default notice to Thornburg Mortgage Inc after the lender missed a 28 million margin call, said more default notices and margin calls were likely. The Carlyle Group8217;s mortgage fund also failed to meet 37 million in margin calls this week. 8220;A systemic credit crunch is underway, driven primarily by bank writedowns for subprime mortgages,8221; said the report. 8220;We would characterise this situation as a systemic margin call.8221; The credit crisis that began about a year ago will likely intensify after Friday8217;s weak February US employment report 8220;that most definitely signals recession8221;, JPMorgan said.