Jamie Dimon again took aim at higher capital requirements US regulators proposed for the banking industry in July, saying he would “love to know what they really want to accomplish.”
Requiring US lenders to hold more capital than their international competitors is a “huge negative” over time, the JPMorgan Chase & Co. chief executive officer said Monday at a conference hosted by Barclays Plc. Regulators should have shared more about the “cost-benefit to society,” said Dimon, who questioned whether they learned the right lessons from the failures earlier this year of Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic Bank.
Central banks are “the ones that told the world rates aren’t going up,” Dimon said. “So if I were them, I’d have a little bit more humility over stuff like this.”
US regulators’ long-awaited plans would require banks to set aside more capital, tied to an international overhaul that began in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Dimon has repeatedly called the proposal “hugely disappointing,” and warned that the measures will make certain activities such as mortgages and small-business lending harder for banks.
In the wide-ranging interview, Dimon said the health of US consumers and businesses is still “pretty good,” though he added that excess savings are “normalizing.” The CEO has warned for more than a year that, while the US economy is in good shape now, there are significant headwinds, including geopolitical tensions — a message he reiterated Monday.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.