Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorganChase, the nation’s largest bank, has a financial stake in almost everything. Unlike many CEOs, he says it’s his job to speak out on many things.
This week, Dimon released his annual letter to shareholders — a document that comments on banking issues and also assesses risks to the economy, from inflation to the war in Iran. The letter asserts his company is ready for anything — noting, among other things, that it has profited during economic booms and also during recessions.
In conversation, Dimon tends to frame wars, crises and changes of government as situations to work through, whether he likes them or not.
In an interview on NPR’s Newsmakers video podcast, Dimon said he didn’t worry much about the way President Trump’s contradictory statements tend to send financial markets sliding and soaring again.
“I have to deal with the world I got,” Dimon said.
Dimon spoke with NPR at the JPMorganChase offices in Washington, D.C. The offices are a very short walk from the White House, which suggests the bank’s closeness to those in power: It is an influential business, and also a highly regulated one. Dimon has made hundreds of trips to Washington over the years to deal with one party in power and then the next.
The conversation was in a hallway decorated with historic artifacts of the company — including a black-and-white image of its namesake, John Pierpont Morgan, the Gilded Age financier who shaped much of the U.S. economy and more than once provided vital support to the federal government.
You can watch Dimon above. Below are highlights from our conversation.
He says the Iran war “increases the odds of bad economic outcomes”
Dimon’s letter put “geopolitical risks” above all others.
He defends the general purpose of the war in Iran: “People talk about [Iran] being an imminent threat. It’s not a threat. They’ve been killing and murdering innocent people and innocent Americans, you know, for 47 years.”
But he acknowledged the real risk of economic blowback, including the possibility of a recession.
“I’m not sure it’s going to happen. I just think it increases the odds of bad economic outcomes. And we should be clear eyed about that.”
He shrugs off Trump’s sudden changes of direction
The president has made numerous remarks about the war that dramatically moved markets — threatening destruction for Iran at one moment, talking up the prospects of peace in the next, setting deadlines and shifting them. The changes in stocks have come along with suspicions that some traders may benefit from inside information.
Dimon stressed that insider trading would be illegal, but took a sympathetic view of the president’s public statements.
“When the president changes his mind, I don’t think it’s always a bad thing,” he said.
If one thing fails, Dimon said, the president tries another. Nevertheless, Dimon added, “The words of a president matter. And, you know, presidents are careful. This president is less careful.”
He takes an optimistic view of AI
Dimon’s letter embraces the scientific and medical advances that may come through artificial intelligence, and raises the long-term prospect of Americans working a shorter week rather than outright losing their jobs.
In our interview he added, “If you look at the history of developed nations, we went from working six and half days a week to six days a week to five and half days a week to five days a week … 12 hours a day to 10 hours to eight hours a day. I do think that there’s a good chance to be three days a week, and in many years we’ll be living wonderful lives.”
He did not say that was the current “solution” for JPMorganChase, which has adopted AI in many departments. The company has yet to reduce its workforce, instead shifting people to other departments where they can “adapt to do a better job with their customers.”
He warns New York that his loyalty is to his country, not his city
Dimon’s letter warns that “cities need to compete,” and in the analysis that follows he names exactly one city: New York, his hometown.
He said New York has far higher tax rates than other areas. In the NPR interview, he turned aside questions about New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has called for higher taxes to pay for better transportation and public services.
Dimon did say, “People vote with their feet,” and noted that JPMorgan has shifted employees to cities other than New York. The bank has more employees in Texas than in New York. When asked, he did not rule out the possibility of relocating JPMorgan’s headquarters itself.
“My real loyalty is to my country, not to my city,” he said,
He says you shouldn’t make decisions on a tough Friday
Dimon recently turned 70 years old. Asked for lessons that he wished he had known earlier in life, he gave two things to avoid.
“Anger doesn’t help,” he said, and, “Making big decisions on a Friday when you’re tired is a really bad idea.”
Can’t see the video above? Click here.
