‘Bad For America’: Dimon Steps Up Regulatory Rhetoric
When last I checked in on Jamie Dimon, America's favorite "red-blooded capitalist" was busy regaling analysts with a characteristically (and deliberately) caustic critique of the regulatory landscape.
The bank temporarily halted buybacks over the summer, citing higher capital requirements, and Dimon wasn't pleased about it. "We don't agree with the stress test. It's inconsistent. It's not transparent. It's too volatile. It's basically capricious and arbitrary," he told Morgan Stanley's Betsy G
Thanks for answering my question in the most Heisenberg way possible.
I try.
The bank’s history reflects values of JP Morgan himself. JP Morgan was the quintessential American capitalist – a baron of America’s railroads and a successful banker. He also gave a large volume of gold to the United States Treasury’s reserve, exchanging it for bonds, to ensure the nation’s ability to manage its finances following a panic during the 1893 depression.
JP Morgan was indeed a red-blooded capitalist. Regarding Jamie Dimon’s protests about banking regulatory matters right now, like it or not, the bank has obligations to satisfy regulatory concerns identified in banking laws. No doubt the bank’s board, or Jamie’s fear of them, prompted him to cry out with this rhetoric. But Jamie demeans himself and the bank by whining about regulatory issues at this time. I’m sure Jamie is afraid of this “hurricane” financial dilemma or collapse or whatever it was he predicted some weeks ago. But the bank is doing just fine, and it will continue to do so, as Jamie said.
Crying babies won’t move the needle either way. Whether the economy is good, weak, or outright bad (when it’s best to be prepared for the storm), there is no good reason for tolerating crybabies in the executive suite.