[NEW YORK] JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is cautious about the US economic outlook, believing that the full effects of tariffs and other geopolitical headwinds have yet to fully unfold.
“I think you better be careful on that one (on the economic impact on the US) because some of these things have long cycles. So we don’t know yet. People are expecting these things to happen right away. But actually, a lot of them haven’t happened,” Dimon said in a podcast interview on Office Hours: Business Edition set to be released on Wednesday morning.
The impact of tariffs, immigration, geopolitics and President Donald Trump’s tax and spending package is still not fully known, Dimon warned. He added that the bank has doubled down on getting involved in policies that it thinks will help the US.
The US economy grew faster than initially thought in the second quarter, in part driven by business investment in intellectual property such as artificial intelligence, but concerns about tariff uncertainty remain.
Despite the recent strength, Dimon said in a separate CNBC interview on Tuesday that the economy is weakening and that expected interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve will be immaterial.
The 69-year-old CEO, who is a prominent voice on Wall Street, has maintained a cautious stance on the US economy for several quarters even when his peers have been more optimistic. He has cautioned about the risk of recession, the possibility of credit spreads widening and inflation rising.
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Dimon also said that he expects more consolidation to happen in the banking sector and downplayed the possibility of buying a bank overseas.
“We’re not allowed to buy a bank in the United States of America. We could overseas if we wanted to, but I probably wouldn’t,” he added.
The bank plans to launch its digital bank in Germany in 2026 after establishing its presence in the UK.
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Dimon has run the biggest US lender for more than 19 years, outlasting many other CEOs. He once again declined to give a time frame for his eventual retirement but said that the successor will most likely be an insider while he takes on the chairman role.
“It’s when they are ready and it’s time for me to go – or some combination of the two,” Dimon said. “I have a great relationship with all the people here. The board is likely to make me chairman for a couple of years,” he added. REUTERS
