JPMorgan's Next Three Hurdles

Now that Jamie Dimon gets to keep both of his jobs, he must also get on with the task of tackling several big concerns at JPMorgan Chase (JPM).

After months of criticism and campaigning, JPMorgan on Tuesday announced the defeat of a closely watched shareholder proposal that sought to split Dimon's dual chairman and chief executive roles. The vote was only one part of a long and sometimes prickly annual meeting, at which shareholders and board members debated several pressing issues still facing the bank.

JPMorgan Chase is facing mounting regulatory scrutiny across several of its businesses, and its board now has to resolve concerns over the composition of crucial committees and the relatively thin list of people who could eventually replace Dimon. Here are the bank's next big three hurdles:

1) Resolve Regulators' Many Concerns
Dimon has spent a year trying to convince investors and lawmakers to move past the $6 billion trading loss in JPMorgan's London offices; now regulators are turning their focus to other parts of the bank. This month, California Attorney General Kamala Harris sued JPMorgan Chase over alleged credit card debt collection abuses, which the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is also investigating. Regulators are also looking into JPMorgan's energy-trading operations and its possible failure to alert authorities to suspicious behavior by Bernie Madoff, according to news reports.

Last month, officials from the OCC and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York told Dimon and some of his directors and executives that they don't trust management, the Wall Street Journal reported.

On Tuesday, Dimon tersely acknowledged the regulatory shadows continuing to hang over the bank, telling shareholders that "unfortunately we may have some more" regulatory actions.

2) Rethink Board Committees
The prominent proxy advisors who called for shareholders to strip Dimon of his chairman's title also raised concerns about the qualifications of some of JPMorgan Chase's other directors, especially those on its risk management committee. Glass Lewis & Co. and Institutional Shareholder Services recommended that shareholders vote against re-electing three of the four members of that committee: David M. Cote, CEO of Honeywell International Inc.; James S. Crown, president of Henry Crown & Co.; and Ellen V. Futter, president of the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Shareholders grudgingly re-elected all three directors, but none received more than 60% support; Futter, who was elected by only 53% of investors, did not even appear at the meeting. Lead director Lee Raymond simultaneously defended the risk committee's members and signaled that the board is rethinking their roles. He called Cote, Crown and Futter "all qualified," before telling shareholders to "stay tuned" for changes in the committee's composition.

3) Plan for the Post-Dimon Era
In the weeks leading up to the annual meeting, Dimon's lack of a clearly designated successor became an argument both for and against taking away one of his titles. (Dimon reportedly threatened to quit if he lost the nonbinding vote, thus sending shareholders and observers into a tizzy over who could replicate his reliable quarterly profits.) JPMorgan Chase has lost several of its most senior executives in the past year; some, including former Chief Investment Officer Ina Drew, were directly implicated in the London Whale affair. Others, including former Dimon lieutenants Charlie Scharf and Frank Bisignano, left to run other companies.

Dimon has acknowledged that the bank had "too much turnover" last year, and he has rapidly promoted one potential successor: current chief operating officer Matt Zames, who a year ago was sent to clean up after the trading losses at the chief investment office. Raymond acknowledged Tuesday that Dimon and the board still have much work ahead to get any potential Dimon replacements up to snuff.

"We intend to have a competent and capable successor to Jamie … but I hope that time is much into the future," Raymond said. "I have no illusions that we will be able to clone Jamie."