Jamie Dimon: The J.P. Morgan of our times

JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon has earned more esteem in the banking industry than perhaps anyone since J.P. Morgan himself in the 19th century.

Dimon, who made news this week by criticizing US tariffs, attained his first CEO job at Bank One in 2000, holding the job until JPMorgan bought the superregional bank in 2004. He took over at JPMorgan in 2006 and has deftly led the bank through the 2008 financial crisis, the 2020-22 pandemic and everything in between. Dimon is 69.

Under his leadership, JPMorgan has developed best-in-class units for investment banking, commercial banking, retail banking, asset- and wealth-management and credit card activity. Experts say the bank is far and away the best in the country and perhaps in the world.

Dimon is senior statesman of banking

Dimon’s success has turned him into the senior statesman for the finance industry. He almost seems apolitical, though he is a lifelong Democrat. He supported Barack Obama for president in 2008, but lambasted him for increasing bank regulation after the financial crisis. 

And while Dimon generally has shied away from criticizing President Trump, that didn’t stop him from going after the tariffs.

“Whatever you think of the legitimate reasons for the newly announced tariffs — and, of course, there are some, there are likely to be important [negative] short-term effects,” Dimon wrote in his annual letter to shareholders. 

“We are likely to see inflationary outcomes.” He’s also worried about the impact on economic growth. “Whether the tariffs cause a recession remains in question, but they will slow down growth,” Dimon said. A few days later he said recession is a “likely outcome.”

On another issue, he’s been out in front of the move to bring workers back to the office full-time, implementing that policy at his bank.

Dick Bove is a Dimon groupie

Industry experts offer him high praise. Legendary bank analyst Dick Bove goes so far as to call himself a Jamie Dimon groupie. 

“I think he’s been phenomenal,” Bove told me in an interview for Institutional Investor. “He’s done a great job everywhere he has worked.” When Bank One combined with JPMorgan in 2004, JPMorgan was in trouble, Bove said. It wasn’t considered the premier bank in the world as it is now. But Dimon changed all that. 

“He brought it into the modern era. He has a broad vision of the financial system and the world. No one wants him to talk about that. But he’s thought out multiple layers, from the top down to how much ATMs cost.” Bove also lauded Dimon’s “Queens, New York mentality — skeptical but friendly, and some cursing.” 

The author owns shares of JPMorgan.