Dimon Says European Regulators Should Let Banks Do Their Job

European bank regulators should get out of the way and let banks there "do their job," JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said.

"They did the stress tests and most of the banks did fine," Dimon, 60, said Monday in a CNBC interview from California during the company's annual bus tour. "Continue pounding them and changing the rules and requirements is not good for the people of those countries, because you're destabilizing a financial system."

Last week's European bank stress tests showed that many lenders still need to lift their capital levels, and some need to do it quickly. While there was no pass or fail mark, two of the 51 banks tested by the European Banking Authority — Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA and Allied Irish Banks Plc — fell below the regulatory minimum threshold, the regulator said Friday.

JPMorgan is among a group of banks that is helping Monte Paschi sell as much as 5 billion euros ($5.59 billion) of stock to replenish capital following the disposal of its entire bad-loan portfolio.

Dimon's comments were part of a wide-ranging discussion on the bank, effects of the U.K. referendum to leave the European Union, and the U.S. economy and election. The next president shouldn't restrict free trade, he said, while focusing on immigration reform, infrastructure spending, corporate tax reform and education.

"China is going to trade with the world whether we like that or not," Dimon said. "Either we're going to set the terms of the trade or they're going to set it."

Dimon also sounded a warning about U.S. bond prices, which he said "were not normal."

"I'm not a buyer of 10-year bonds," Dimon said, reiterating a stance he took earlier this year. "I would be a little worried about drastic actions in the 10-year."

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