NEW YORK — JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Jamie Dimon ruled out accepting any political appointment, and said Wednesday that while the economy is getting stronger, the recovery is "stuck." Dimon also strongly disagreed with assessments that the U.S. banking industry can't grow.
Dimon said during an interview with CNBC that the U.S. economy "has been terrible for a long period of time," and the political wrangling between Congress and the president [Obama] has hampered a stronger recovery. "I'd like to see, I want to see this country grow again. We need more coherent, consistent, coordinated policy. A lot of policy is inconsistent, made in the middle of the night."
The downgrade of U.S. government debt by Standard & Poor's on Friday is "just an opinion" by the rating firm, and many market participants rely on their own research, he said.
But the U.S. "needs to show fiscal discipline," Dimon said.
The heated political debate about raising the nation's debt ceiling was "demoralizing," but "this country has been through far worse," he said.
However, Dimon ruled out jumping into the political fray. Asked about consistently recurring rumors that he might become a candidate for secretary of the Treasury, he said, "No. I am not suited for politics." Indeed, Dimon, a Democrat, during the interview called the Dodd-Frank Act that imposed new regulation on banks, "Dodd-Frankenstein."
Dimon made two comments about competitors. JPMorgan is "not planning to charge for deposits," he said; Bank of New York Mellon Corp. said last week it would start charging large corporate customers to keep certain deposits at the bank. And embattled Bank of America Corp.'s CEO Brian Moynihan "is doing the right thing," Dimon said.
The S&P downgrade of U.S. government debt, meanwhile, hasn't made business more difficult for banks, he said. "We try to be very careful but that doesn't mean that we don't do business with clients." He called "hogwash" concerns that banks aren't lending enough and buying securities instead.
Instead, Dimon and the bank's commercial and retail banking chief, Todd Maclin, said JPMorgan is lending.
"Banks are lending a lot of money to people who have valid credit," Dimon said.
Maclin said rising loan demand from corporations signals an economic recovery in the U.S. "Those are good signs, and signs of a recovery," he said. "There is a lot of underlying strength in the economy."
Dimon said despite the economy's troubles, consumers are in a far stronger position than during the crisis since they paid down debt, and incomes are rising again. The problem remains unemployment, he said.
Still, the bank has no plans to cut back on opening branches, hiring bankers, and investing in infrastructure, "even in a recession," Dimon said. Jesting with his CNBC interviewer, said JPMorgan could cut back on advertising.
Dimon reiterated he is comfortable with JPMorgan's exposure to troubled economies in Europe, and reiterated that the worst loss the bank might take is a "manageable" $3 billion after tax.
