Interview experience at JPMC – need advice

Hi everyone, I recently interviewed with JPMC and had an interesting experience I’d like some input on.

The interview itself went well , mostly technical and some behavioral questions, but towards the end, the panel started discussing my CTC and expected compensation. I answered honestly, but then one of them commented, “We already have people working here at the same CTC you’re working for, why do we hire you for your inflated CTC? you are already paid fairly "

This felt a little awkward to me. From what I’ve seen and also what my current manager told me, CTC discussions are usually kept for HR rounds. My concern is that bringing up salary in a technical round might create biases – for example, if a candidate’s expectations are higher (or lower) than what the panelists themselves earn, it could affect how they evaluate the skills objectively.

Is this a normal practice across firms, or has anyone else faced something similar at JPMC (or elsewhere)? Would really appreciate hearing different perspectives.