JPM boss Jamie Dimon sacked Bill Winters in 2009. Getty Employees at the US investment bank JPMorgan can no longer access the online version of the Financial Times on work computers, the bank confirmed on Wednesday, citing the desire to "avoid a potential copyright concern."

Bankers have been blocked from accessing the site since last week, a bank spokeswoman told Business Insider by email on Wednesday.

Workers can still use their own personal devices to access FT articles but only if "they respect intellectual property rights outlined in our Code of Conduct," the statement added.

JPMorgan employs 235,000 people globally, according to the bank's 2015 annual report.

It is unclear exactly what the "potential copyright concern" involves, though Paul Murphy, the founding editor of the FT's Alphaville blog, wrote on the blog's Markets Live section: "Well, no — it's not a copyright row — it's cos they were sharing FT content around the JPM buildings, but not paying for a license."

"Journalism costs money," he added.

A Bloomberg report, which cited people familiar with the matter, said JPMorgan carried out the block because of fears that some employees may have breached copyright by copying and pasting text from FT articles and sharing it.

The Financial Times declined to comment. The story was first reported on Twitter by Harry Wilson, The Times' city editor.

The FT has a heavily paywalled online product, with group online subscriptions costing £336 ($410.57) a person, according to its website.

On an individual basis, a premium digital subscription costs £7.75 ($9.47) a week, equivalent to £403 ($492.44) annually. Without a subscription, readers can access only a tiny proportion of the FT's content.