Jamie Dimon told a conference of bankers on Monday that he is “tired of this stuff” when it comes to the Biden-Harris administration’s banking regulations.
The CEO of JPMorgan Chase – who did reportedly eyeing Treasury Secretary position under Harris – said this despite an investigation showing that he back privately Kamala Harris for chairman.
Dimon, 68, on Monday rejected several major U.S. financial regulatory initiatives and vowed to oppose those he said would hurt banks.
“It’s time to fight back,” he said at the American Bankers Association, pointing to the “onslaught” of red tape before exclaiming, “I’m tired of this stuff.”
Dimon, a registered Democrat, has been unusually quiet about his political leanings in recent months.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon told a conference of bankers on Monday that he is “tired of this stuff” when it comes to the Biden-Harris administration’s banking regulations
The outspoken 68-year-old executive, who heads the largest US lender, said this despite a survey showing he privately supports Kamala Harris for president.
This had led some onlookers to speculate whether he had switched his allegiance to the Republican candidate.
Both the Trump and Harris campaigns have reportedly sought Dimon’s public support.
Dimon was then forced to publicly deny that he had endorsed Trump earlier this month, after the presidential candidate made the false claim on his social media site Truth Social.
Privately, however, the 68-year-old has made it clear that he supports Vice President Harris.
He is also reportedly considering a role, perhaps as finance minister, in her government.
The banker, who has an estimated net worth of about $2.4 billion, has reportedly told associates that he views Trump’s denial of the 2020 election as almost a disqualifying factor.
However, at the New York conference he criticized what he called overlapping or ill-conceived rules on capital requirements, card payments and open banking.
“It’s time to fight back,” he said. Many banks are afraid to “fight with their regulators because they will only come and punish you more,” he added.
Both the Trump and Harris campaigns have reportedly sought Dimon’s public support
Dimon was forced to publicly deny that he had supported Trump earlier this month
“People at the Fed have told me, because of what you’ve said and what you’ve written about, know that they’re coming after you.”
The Federal Reserve declined to comment.
‘We sue our regulators again and again because things are becoming unfair and unjust, and they are harming companies. “Many of these rules hurt lower-paid individuals,” he said.
As banks await new proposals under what is known as the Basel III endgame, “the devil is in the details,” Dimon said.
He referred to a July 2023 proposal by US regulators to align their standards with those of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision to help the sector better absorb economic shocks.
Michael Barr, the head of Fed regulators, last month outlined a plan to increase capital at major banks by 9%, easing an earlier proposal to increase capital by 19%. It was a major concession to the Wall Street banks who had lobbied to water down the draft.
Despite the industry’s apparent victory, the plan was still shrouded in uncertainty, key details were unclear, and the November 5 US presidential election cast doubt on whether it would survive a new administration.
It will be difficult to get anything done if the proposals don’t emerge before the election, Dimon said.
The capital charge for global systemically important banks was among the “dumbest” elements of the Basel framework, the operational risk calculations were “ridiculous” and there were “inconsistencies” in the liquidity coverage ratio, he said.
“The biggest problem I have with all these overlapping rules is that we don’t take a step back and say, what can we do better to make the system work better,” he added.
The bank chief is among the fiercest critics of the regulations and has warned that the bank is prepared to challenge some rules in court if it sees no other option.
“It’s time to fight back,” Dimon told the American Bankers Association, drawing applause and laughter. “We don’t want to get involved in a lawsuit just to make a point, but if you’re in a knife fight you better bring a knife and that’s where we are.”
The CEO also said regulators should not allow card-issuing financial services companies such as American Express, Capital One and Discover Financial Services to charge more for debit card transactions.
This is because banks are limited in the amount they can charge for debit cards, while card issuers have no such limits.
“It’s just plain unfair to make them do more,” he said.
Dimon, the longest-serving bank chief at a major Wall Street bank, also criticized the U.S. consumer finance watchdog’s rules unveiled last week that would make it easier for consumers to switch between financial services providers.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s “open banking” rule governs data sharing between fintech companies and traditional banks, allowing consumers to easily transfer their personal data between providers without cost.
Dimon said he was not against open banking, but noted it could compromise consumer data and lead to fraudulent money transfers, and he planned to combat it.