If JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon isn't trying to replace Timothy Geithner, he sure could have fooled me. In an ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/905aeb88-dc50-11e0-8654-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=rss#axzz1XiP8ODJj">interview with the Financial Times he objected strongly to the new Basel III requirements and advocated an American pull-out from Basel if American banks weren't granted an exemption.
“I’m very close to thinking the United States shouldn’t be in Basel any more. I would not have agreed to rules that are blatantly anti-American,” he said. “Our regulators should go there and say: ‘If it’s not in the interests of the United States, we’re not doing it’.”
That foray into international relations sounds decidedly political to me. His biggest beef is with the new net capital requirements, which in JP Morgan Chase's case would require 9.5% Tier 1 capital. Even though the US agreed to the increases, Dimon now believes it will erode US market share and provide an unfair advantage to Asian banks, most of whom only need 7% in Tier 1. (The disparity is a result of the size of JP Morgan Chase and 7 other global banking giants.)
“I think any American president, secretary of Treasury, regulator or other leader would want strong, healthy global financial firms and not think that somehow we should give up that position in the world and that would be good for your country,” said Mr Dimon. “If they think that’s good for the country then we have a different view on how the economy operates, how the world operates.”
Sure sounds like he's interested in getting involved on a policy level. I wonder if Geithner's hearing footsteps...
He's so dreamy.
He's still (relatively) young. Maybe he could finish up his CEO stint and go campaigning? Stranger things have happened. He would deny it, of course.
Agree with above posts, and add this to the mix: he may be positioning himself for a political career later on, but his current motivation is to hook it up for his bank. What better way to promote one's cause than by wrapping it up in the sanctimonius veneer of patriotism? I agree with his reasoning to an extent as well, and see Basel as just more half baked West-Euro-politicking with the goal of removing the best competition (us) so that it's fair (they gain something for nothing at someone else's expense, typically us or some third world cesspool they've been raping).
He has repeatedly said that politics isn't for him and he'd be bad at it... although you never know, he could have presidential ambitions some day.
^ agree, EVERYONE says politics isn't for them until they see an opportunity to get elected, and then it becomes 'about the issues' :)
Excepturi sit iste optio fugit quae dolor. Eveniet consectetur rerum quaerat aut qui eum inventore natus. Qui optio non cupiditate quo libero ex expedita. Perspiciatis quia quia minus quo blanditiis.
Voluptatibus et qui aut amet quis nobis. Recusandae optio minus quia reprehenderit necessitatibus eos ab. Magnam fugit eos adipisci et ad et dolores.
Molestiae reiciendis et quas quibusdam provident ut sint. Nihil sequi et nihil quis. Ut voluptatem qui occaecati soluta quasi odio quis.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...