Jamie Dimon, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co., speaks during the event Chase for Business The Experience - Miami - REUTERS/Marco Bellowith a side of brimstone. The mega-bank Jamie Dimon runs is performing strongly, and yet he openly frets and rants about what’s coming: higher interest rates, smothering regulation, recession, war. The pessimism is something of a schtick that doubles as an asset.
Lest nerves be soothed by those trends, Dimon lays on caveats with a trowel. He and his executives warn that the current performance is unsustainable, and that JPMorgan is, in analyst-speak, over-earning. He has cautioned that rates could hit 7% compared with about 5% now, and advises thatWith the anxiety comes indignation, in the form of ravings about the impact of upcoming changes to capital requirements for U.S. banks.
At the same time, the very reason Dimon can justly call his balance sheet a “fortress” is that he has, for more than a decade, kept one eye on worst-case scenarios. If calamity strikes, JPMorgan’s high returns, high capital levels and sheer size make it akin to a safe haven. As Dimon spreads the dread, that competitive reality probably hasn’t escaped him.JPMorgan said on Oct.