What's eating Jamie Dimon?
At last week's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the JPMorgan Chase chief executive once again lambasted the media and politicians for portraying all bankers as greedy evil-doers.
It was at least the 12th time since the start of the financial crisis that Dimon has complained about Wall Street critics painting all bankers as cut from the same cloth. But the timing of his latest outburst seemed odd.
In December, as part of President Barack Obama's bid to make nice with U.S. business leaders, Dimon was invited to a private Oval Office one-on-one with the president to discuss the economy. Dimon and his wife Judy were also guests at the state dinner the White House arranged for Chinese President Hu Jintao last month. And one of Dimon's top executives, Bill Daley, was tapped by the president as chief of staff.
By most objective standards that's a lot of love Obama has showered on Dimon, even though JPMorgan spent more money than any other Wall Street firm to lobby against key parts of last year's financial regulatory reform law.
If Dimon seems unusually thin-skinned, many industry insiders say, it is an indication of the importance the 54-year-old Queens, New York native places on his legacy -- and how that will affect his ability to forge a life beyond finance.
His legacy is that he and his pals are greedy fucks and he deserves to rot in hell for what he's done to this country and its people. It's times like these I wish I believed in a hell.
Oh, and he's not done being a dick.
"In taking over a bank like Bank One, what was attractive to him was the credit card business," said Tavakoli. "Yes, he is a man of the people because he wants a hand in every wallet. His game is to get as many fees as possible."
In fact, in spending $5 million on lobbying firms last year, JPMorgan was far more aggressive than most financial firms in opposing several major elements of the financial reform bill, even as Dimon voiced his support for a system to wind down large banks and clear derivatives.
When he sat down with Reuters in December, Dimon was still smarting over a Federal Reserve proposal to crack down on debit card processing fees. He was also reluctant to comment about Elizabeth Warren's work at the new consumer financial protection agency that JPMorgan and other banks had opposed. "I don't think the government should get involved in any pricing," Dimon said.
He has told analysts that if the debit-card changes go through as proposed, the bank will try to recoup the lost fees elsewhere, perhaps by charging customers monthly fees, or requiring higher minimum account balances.