America’s best-known banker is apologizing for a wisecrack that his employer would outlast China’s Communist Party. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, made the remarks whereas talking on a panel in Boston on Tuesday.
“I made a joke the other day that the Communist Party is celebrating its 100th year — so is JPMorgan. I’d make a bet that we last longer,” Dimon stated on the panel, in line with Bloomberg. The chief additionally stated he can be unable to make such a joke if he have been in China, including that officers there would doubtless see his feedback.
By Wednesday, Dimon was quickly strolling again the joke.
“I truly regret my recent comment because it’s never right to joke about or denigrate any group of people, whether it’s a country, its leadership, or any part of a society and culture,” Dimon stated in an announcement that was shared with CSB MoneyWatch. “Speaking in that way can take away from constructive and thoughtful dialogue in society, which is needed now more than ever.”
In a separate assertion, Dimon stated he was “trying to emphasize the strength and longevity of our company,” in line with the Related Press.
It is not the primary that Dimon — often known as some of the outspoken executives on Wall Road — has needed to tamp down controversy after making a brash assertion. In 2018, he boasted that he may beat then-president Donald Trump on the poll field, saying, “I’m smarter than he is.” A day later, Dimon acknowledged he “should not have said it.” He has additionally mouthed off about “worthless” cryptocurrency and President Joe Biden’s “crazy” plan to lift taxes.
JPMorgan Chase has about $21 billion of publicity to China, in line with its most up-to-date securities filings. In August, it was the primary non-Chinese financial institution to win approval from the federal government to totally personal its securities enterprise within the nation. On the time, Dimon called the enterprise “one of the largest opportunities in the world.”
Many giant U.S. banks have operations in China, and their capability to do enterprise on this planet’s second-largest financial system typically will depend on retaining favor with the Chinese authorities.
Dimon traveled to Hong Kong simply final week as a part of a tour of JPMorgan’s operation in Asia, his first journey there because the pandemic. Dimon bought a particular Hong Kong authorities waiver to COVID-19 quarantine protocols as a part of his journey. A JPMorgan spokesperson stated that the financial institution was dedicated to doing enterprise in China.
With reporting by the Related Press.
