JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon blasts draft US bank capital rules
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon blasted stricter capital rules proposed by U.S. regulators, telling investors on Monday that they could prompt lenders to pull back and stymie economic growth.
The proposal to require banks to set aside more capital to guard against risk was «hugely disappointing» and involved a «lack of transparency» from regulators about the rationale, Dimon said at a conference in New York.
«I wouldn't be a big buyer of a bank,» the chief of the largest bank in the U.S.
added, drawing laughter from the audience. «I'd be no better than equal weight.»
JPMorgan bought First Republic earlier this year in a government-backed deal.
Dimon questioned what the regulators were trying to accomplish with the rules.
«All I want is fairness, transparency, openness,» he said.
The Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency declined to comment.
GLOBAL ECONOMY
Dimon said he believed the Chinese market was no longer as lucrative as it was previously. He also said that his takeaway from a trip he made to China in May for the first time in four years was «highly cautious.»
«In terms of our own business, the risk-reward (from China), which was very good, has now become okay.
The risk is bad,» he said adding that the bank is cautious about managing its risk.
China's economy grew at a frail pace in the second quarter with gross domestic product expanding by just 0.8% from the previous quarter.
Dimon earlier warned about uncertainty in the Chinese economy hurting investor confidence and also suggested that the U.S. and China need «real engagement» on security and trade issues.
In the U.S., even though the consumer and the banking industry remains strong, Dimon said that he
