Jamie Dimon, JP Morgan CEO Lashes Out Against Bank Bashing

DAVOS, Switzerland (By Lisa Jucca) - JP Morgan Chase's boss Jamie Dimon lashed out at persistent bank bashing nearly three years after the global credit crisis began, in particular the tendency to put all financial institutions in the same basket.

Dimon, credited with being one of the few U.S. bankers who ably steered his firm through the financial turmoil of 2007-08, told the annual World Economic Forum that not all banks made the same mistakes in the run up to the crisis.

"Not all banks are the same and I just think that this constant refrain 'bankers, bankers, bankers' is just unproductive and unfair. People should just stop doing that," Dimon told a panel on "The Next Shock: Are We Better Prepared?"

The United States government spent hundred of billions of dollars of public money to bail out financial institutions, after the dramatic failure of Lehman Brothers in the autumn of 2008, through the controversial Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

"There is a huge misconception. Not all banks needed that TARP. Not all banks would have failed," Dimon said. "A lot of banks were stabilizing the problem -- JP Morgan bought Bear Stearns because the U.S. asked us to."

OPTIMIST OUTLOOK

Dimon sounded upbeat on the outlook for the banking sector, saying the global financial system was sounder than back in 2007 despite widespread concerns on the stability of the euro zone and of possible municipal bankruptcies in the Unites States.

"I am optimistic. The system is stronger than three years ago," he said.

Dimon, whose banks invests heavily in Europe, said the European Union was also right to try to resolve the euro zone's debt crisis without a dramatic restructuring that would force banks to take losses.

Separately, Dimon predicted that some U.S. municipalities would go bankrupt, though he said he did not believe that this would trigger systemic woes.

"There are 14,000 municipalities and you are unfortunately going to see some bankruptcies."

"It will be an issue for some and they have built up these obligations, pensions kind of snuck up on people... you are going to see some municipalities use the bankruptcy courts to try to renegotiate some of those contracts."

Dimon said the total deficit of all states and all municipalities was $200 billion relative to the total U.S. federal deficit of $1.5 trillion.

"I just don't think it's going to stop growth in 2011 or 2012," he said.

His biggest current concern, he said as a final remark to the session, was that "bad policy" could make things worse as the industry is trying to recover.

(Editing by Mike Nesbit)

Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

Comments

[Corners]

08:34 PM on 03/04/2011

Why not point them out to us Jamie,instead of asking us to lay off. Its obvious you know

[anyfreeman]

07:17 PM on 02/01/2011

His "stop bank bashing" would have more credence if the banks were participating in righting the wrongs they actively advanced, if the banks were more willing to take the risk they introduced themselves, and if they were willing to be better civic stewards. The banks must be accountable for the financial instability and inequity they still profit from. Dimon seems to think that the general population is unaware or too stupid to realize how the banks have been looting the Fed and the Treasury to support their untenable failed and absolutely discredited financial fantasies.

[Corners]

08:35 PM on 03/04/2011

Then using those same tax dollars against tax payers to fight regulations stemming from the crisis. The nerve....

[SeanN]

11:34 AM on 01/29/2011

Did you see the "New York" magazine article about the smackdown Sarkozy gave Dimon at Davos? From the article:

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has spent much of the World Economic Forum going around like a frat president whose members have been caught drinking, telling everyone who will listen how "unfair" it is that everyone should be punished by regulatory reform when it was just a few raucous individuals that caused all the problems. But when he stood up during a panel to ask French president Nicolas Sarkozy to get the G20 to avoid "overregulation" of banks, Sarkozy was having none of it, telling Dimon that the actions of the banks during the crisis "defied common sense."

"The world has paid with tens of millions of unemployed, who were in no way to blame and who paid for everything. It caused a lot of anger. Too much is too much. The world was stupefied to see one of five biggest U.S. banks collapse like a house of cards. We saw that for the last 10 years, major institutions in which we thought we could trust had done things which had nothing to do with simple common sense. ... When one offshore country guaranteed 700 times its GDP, are we in the market economy or in a madhouse?"

Dimon is just another bailed-out billionaire thinking he's a master of the universe. But, for the embattled middle class, he's not just another a jerk, he's an enemy.

[anastasiabeaverhousen]

11:07 AM on 01/29/2011

OK. No more bashing. Moving on to tarandfeathering in three, two, one.

[James Fisher]

10:47 AM on 01/29/2011

I just bet you cant wait to get your life back to normal.

[perfectsky]

11:39 PM on 01/28/2011

Dimon, FU!

[sueinmn]

08:04 PM on 01/28/2011

With the pay increased for these guys, They should be hiding rather than speaking!

[James Fisher]

10:54 AM on 01/29/2011

they are. in the summer house in france

[dporterdvd]

06:03 PM on 01/28/2011

Start making loans to small businesses. Stop nickel and diming your customers with hidden charges. Hire more people. Be more patriotic and pay your fair share of taxes. Act ethically and conduct your business with some social responsibility. UNLESS YOU CHANGE FOR THE BETTER, THE BASHING WILL ONLY GET WORSE.

[Ordinary Citizen]

04:44 PM on 01/28/2011

We only bash you because we believe you belong in jail, jail, jail.

[rabb046]

02:42 PM on 01/28/2011

Yeah, quit bashing bankers.
This economic mess is all the fault of janitors.
Bash the janitors, someone.
Down with janitors!
Down with janitors!

[clemmers]

11:32 AM on 01/28/2011

Jamie, with all the billions you stole from us, you should be able to afford a clue.

[petef59]

07:53 PM on 01/28/2011

That would take some intelligence beyond the ability to create elaborate con-games.

[joe kim]

09:02 AM on 01/28/2011

Why shouldn't we bash the bankers? They haven't done anything but help destroy our economic world. The US should have taken the pain back in 2003 back then the recession would have lasted a few years and we would have never had the housing bubble, but due to the greed and recklessness of these clowns buying up houses and stocks we had the biggest economic crisis since the great depression.

What are these bankers doing now? And why is Bernanke allowed to print trillions of dollars without any oversight?

Bankers are once again pushing stock prices. There has been a net outflow from stock funds for the past 2 years yet the market has gone up nearly close to 100% in that time. Retirement and pension funds don't have the money to invest, so where is this money coming from?

If it is our government giving banks money to buy stocks then isn't that a form of manipulation?

Once a long time ago I loved the capital markets and the free market system ..... when they were actually free.

Our world is yet again corrupted by the bankers lead by the devil himself Bernanke.

Every day we get closer to the end of our world as we know it. When it comes crashing down remember who did this to you.

These people should be locked in the deepest darkest jail and the key should be thrown away.

[baldguy]

08:50 AM on 01/28/2011

I'd like to really bash him....

[muck-raker]

07:17 AM on 01/28/2011

Jamie, you know we are going to do it all again, just give us a little elbow room, pleeeze.They, the banksters are setting us up again. Prez Obama has now hired Daley,Sperling,Immelt They can now drape the Capitol building with the Goldman,Sucks LOGO. Beware America these people have no shame and only worship MONEY....here is the Mother of all truth.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/wall_street_will_be_back_for_more_20100110/

[TheMilesHome]

07:03 AM on 01/28/2011

Unbelievable profits and bailouts. Almost 0% borrowing from the fed and now his feelings are hurt?

You have got to be kidding me!