JPMorgan’s Dimon sees bank crisis near end even if more fail

BLOOMBERG 

The US bank crisis that rattled global markets in March is probably nearing the end, even if more unforeseen failures occur, JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jamie Dimon said.
Only a handful of lenders have the problems that toppled Silicon Valley Bank, and when the industry starts reporting quarterly earnings, the numbers will probably be good, Dimon told CNN in an interview. Asked if more bank failures might come, he said he didn’t know.
“But if there are, I know honestly they’ll be resolved and it will probably be the last of them,” Dimon said. “I think we’re getting near the end of this particular crisis.”
The CEO also said it’s OK for a bank to fail if contagion to other lenders can be prevented. The banking system will reach that point with “monitoring, changing a few things,” he said. “Failure is OK, you just don’t want this domino effect.”
He added that the American banking system is safe, with lenders flush with “extraordinary” capital and liquidity.
Dimon, 67, has run JPMorgan since 2005, and is the only CEO from the 2008 financial crisis still in charge of a big bank. He said the recent turmoil in the financial industry had probably made a US recession more likely, though a downturn won’t necessarily happen.
“We are seeing people reduce lending a little bit, cut back a little bit and pull back a little bit,” he said.
US regional banks have been in turmoil after a run on deposits struck SVB and several other lenders. Rising interest rates depressed the value of bonds they bought when interest rates were low, and a sudden surge in customer withdrawals forced some of them to sell those assets at a loss. SVB was particularly affected because of the concentration of its clients, Dimon said in the interview, portions of which were aired.
“Everyone knew about uninsured deposits, everyone knew about insured exposure, everyone knew about held-to-maturity portfolios,” said Dimon. “The only real difference” was SVB’s concentrated client base — a trait not shared by other regional banks, according to Dimon.
JPMorgan is among advisers to First Republic, a San Francisco-based lender that lost 88% of its stock market value this year as customers, fearing it may succumb to the same fate, pulled their money. An attempt by 11 stronger banks including JPMorgan to shore up the firm by depositing $30 billion gave First Republic more time to resolve the situation, Dimon said.