Jamie Dimon is the chairman and CEO of banking giant JPMorgan Chase — the largest bank by assets in the country and the biggest in Ohio.
The company boasts 2.5 million consumer customers in the state, including credit-card holders.
The company also is a major employer in the state, with 23,000 Ohio employees. Roughly 11,000 of them work at the company’s sprawling McCoy Center off Interstate 71 in Columbus.
Dimon, who is widely quoted about the nation’s economy, in addition to his company’s operations, talked via phone with the Beacon Journal in a brief interview in advance of an appearance he made Monday in Cleveland at a Chase “employee town hall.”
Dimon, asked about the state’s slow economic recovery, first noted he travels everywhere Chase does business, and said: “Ohio is going to come back. America is getting stronger, not weaker. We are having a modest recovery, but it is very broad-based.”
The country, he said, boasts “the best military, the best schools ... I get to travel around the world. This place has it the best.”
He said Chase is growing market share in Ohio, and has added employees. “We are growing our share [in the U.S.] generally just by organic expansion [not by buying other banks.] We have to follow our clients. As they grow and move, we grow and move with them.”
Currently Chase has 292 branches in the state, including 15 in Summit County. Consumer customers, including credit card holders, total 142,000 in Summit County. Small business customers number 7,900 in Summit.
JPMorgan Chase is among the country’s large banking institutions that are close to reaching a federally imposed cap on growing U.S. deposits via acquiring banks. The federal rule does not limit growth through organic expansion.
Dimon addressed a question about whether bank branches will someday be a thing of the past, as the industry shrinks the number of retail locations as more and more consumers turn to online banking.
“You’ll still need branches to open accounts ... sign documents, meet face-to-face with financial advisers. [Branches] will be there ...”
Dimon was asked about JPMorgan Chase agreeing to a record $410 million settlement relating to accusations that it had manipulated electricity prices in various states.
He said, “We settled that matter ... it’s behind us ... it’s not going to stop us from doing all the great things we do in 100 countries around the world.”
Concerning other regulatory matters that the company is facing, Dimon said: “Hopefully they will be resolved fairly and properly. And if they can’t be, we’re perfectly willing to litigate. That’s what courts are for.”
Dimon was asked who he would like to see replace Ben Bernanke as chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, the nation’s central bank.
Dimon said potential candidates making news media lists “are all quality people” and that President Barack Obama “is lucky” to have such choices.
Dimon told CNBC cable television personality Jim Cramer in July that he would not take the seat if asked. “Oh, God, no, please,” he told Cramer. “Every person I know would say, ‘Jamie shouldn’t be the Fed chairman.’”
Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com.