Zames to leave JPMorgan Chase; House passes Choice Act

Receiving Wide Coverage ...
Choice chosen: As expected, the House voted 233 to 186, along near party lines, to approve the Financial Choice Act. Passage of the bill "marks the first time Republicans have successfully passed broad legislation aimed at replacing the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial-overhaul law," the Wall Street Journal said. However, the bill isn't likely to become law because it doesn't have enough support in the Senate, which is writing its own reform law.

Still, part of the plan may be approved "in smaller pieces or be implemented by the Trump administration," the Journal added. The administration is expected to release a report next week outlining its financial regulatory goals. Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, American Banker here and here

The Journal's editorial board says the House voted for "a sturdier, less politicized financial system."

Here are the key details of the Financial Choice Act, courtesy of the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

Leaving: Matthew Zames, the chief operating officer at JPMorgan Chase, who was once thought to be a possible successor to CEO Jamie Dimon, is leaving the bank. "I want to get back to running the railroad — running my railroad, running my business," Zames told the New York Times in explaining why he's leaving.

Zames' departure, at age 46, "will kick off a new round of speculation within the bank about possible heirs to Mr. Dimon," the Journal commented. "But it will also reinforce views the longstanding chief of the biggest U.S. bank by assets isn't going anywhere soon." Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Times, American Banker

Zames' resignation, the FT says in a commentary, "throws a spotlight once more on the costs of a leader with a vice-like grip on the top spot."

Ready or not: The so-called fiduciary rule on retirement savings accounts, or most of it anyway, takes effect Friday. Wall Street Journal, New York Times

Wall Street Journal
Moving on up: Total U.S. household net worth jumped $2.3 trillion to hit a record $94.8 trillion in the first quarter, according to the Federal Reserve's Flow of Funds report. Stock market gains accounted for $1.3 trillion of the increase, while higher home prices raised the total by another $500 billion. The amount held in savings accounts rose by about $100 billion. Household debts, by contrast, rose by a relatively modest $46 billion.

Indeed, the Journal's Heard on the Street column says, "People are being more careful about debt, and maybe they are being more careful for a reason." Rising rents, low wage growth and other factors are said to be dampening the desire to spend.

Looking good: The Journal's Heard on the Street column also looks at what it calls "America's cheapest major bank," namely Citigroup. The "overall picture at Citigroup is of a bank finally turning the page on lingering issues," it says, calling it "a good bet." The bank is planning to return at least $12 billion of excess capital to shareholders over the next year, it notes, and its "aggressive expansion of credit card lending is expected to start paying off around the same time, in the second half of this year."

Eric Thayer/Bloomberg

Financial Times
Arrested: A British former trader at HSBC will fight extradition to the U.S. to avoid facing Justice Department charges that he and his boss manipulated foreign-exchange indexes. The trader, Stuart Scott, was arrested Monday in the U.K. at the request of American authorities. He faces a hearing in London on July 31. His boss, Mark Johnson, was arrested last July at New York's Kennedy airport.

Quotable
"The Choice Act reins in Dodd-Frank and delivers the regulatory relief these small banks so desperately need." — Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin.