NEW YORK A federal judge said on Friday he would decide by the end of the month whether JPMorgan Chase & Co's lawsuit against a former executive who befriended sex offender Jeffrey Epstein should proceed.

The statement by U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan came at the end of one hour of oral arguments over a push by ex-executive Jes Staley, the largest U.S. bank's former private banking head, to dismiss JPMorgan's suit accusing him of entangling it with Epstein.

JPMorgan wants Staley, who has expressed regret for befriending Epstein but denied knowing about his alleged crimes, to cover some or all damages it might face in lawsuits brought by Epstein's accusers and the U.S. Virgin Islands over its ties to the late financier.

Staley, who later served as Barclays Plc's chief executive, said the bank was using him as a "public relations shield" for its own supervisory failures.

(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Daniel Wallis)