I reject the idea that I’ve been obsessed with Jamie Dimon. On the other hand, it’s obvious that I’ve occasionally focused on Jamie Dimon. As evidence I cite three of my short articles about the man who since 2005 has been chairman and chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase. (Links below.) The first goes back to 2008; the second was written in 2012; the third a decade later, in 2022.
Given what happened in the last week, these pieces from my past don’t make me look good. Not only has Dimon not – despite earlier missteps and the extreme length of his tenure – failed or faltered, he has emerged as a hero. JPMorgan Chase’s purchase of the failed First Republic Bank has, for the moment at least, earned the gratitude of the U.S. government, of the banking industry, of markets at home and abroad, and implicitly if not explicitly of the American people who otherwise were threatened with a larger banking crisis.
The moment of uncertainty has not passed. Who knows what will happen in the coming months? But for the time being Dimon is widely seen as a leader who is outstanding. As one of the great corporate leaders of our time.
A few headlines from recent days:
- Wall Street Journal: “Dimon Wins Again in Bank Deal.”
- New York Times: “JPMorgan, A Savior Once Again.”
- Financial Times: “All Roads Lead to JPMorgan.”
Since the financial crisis of 2008 this is the third time that Dimon has agreed to buy – in a federally backed transaction – an institution in crisis. (The first two were Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual.) In each case have been downsides. But in each case have been, certainly for JPMorgan Chase, significant upsides. Under Dimon’s leadership the bank has soared ahead of each of its competitors. It currently boasts $3.7 trillion in assets and 250,000 employees. In terms of assets, deposits, and market capitalization, it is now the largest bank in the United States by far. Chase has branches in 48 of the 50 states.
None of this is to say the concerns that I earlier expressed are trivial or irrelevant. Dimon and his bank have made several serious missteps, some with consequences that linger. More importantly, despite Dimon’s presentation of his acquisition of First Republic as a public service, questions have already been raised about how big a behemoth his bank has been allowed to become. As progressive Senator Elizabeth Warren put it, “Jamie Dimon should never have been permitted to take over a failing bank because JPMorgan is already too big to fail.”
Withal, when I complained that Dimon was a leader too long in his post I was wrong. Whatever the general rule about the length of a leader’s tenure, there are exceptions. And, whatever the systemic implications of his most recent bite out of the apple, JPMorgan Chase shows not the slightest sign of being stopped or even slowed. To the contrary. The institution to which, and for which Dimon is responsible has never in its long, storied history been as strong.