The Bank of America logo is seen at their offices at Canary Wharf financial district in London, Britain, March 3, 2016.
Credit: Reuters/Reinhard Krause

U.S. regulators failed five big banks on Wednesday, including JP Morgan and Wells Fargo, on their plans for a bankruptcy that would not rely on taxpayer money, giving them until Oct. 1 to make amends or risk sanctions.

The move officially starts a long regulatory chain that could end with breaking up the banks. Nearly a decade after the financial crisis, it underscored how the debate about banks being “too big to fail” continues to rage in Washington and exasperate on Wall Street.

Wednesday’s announcement was the first time the two major banking regulators, the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, issued joint determinations flunking banks’ plans, commonly called “living wills.”

If the five, which also included Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), State Street Corp (STT.N) […]