Well, if you were the American public, you saw a catastrophe. In general, you would say, "The biggest institutions of America - Washington, broadly, and Wall Street, broadly - they're to blame." And, broadly, they're right. Jamie Dimon More Quotes by Jamie Dimon More Quotes From Jamie Dimon My operating assumption is we will always have very tough competition. And even with some European banks struggling right now, some of them can reemerge - and maybe even stronger. Jamie Dimon stronger competition struggle Not every company went bankrupt. Not every bank needed TARP [Troubled Asset Relief Program]. So I'm very proud that JPMorgan, throughout that time period, was completely steadfast. We bought Bear Stearns because we thought we were helping the situation. We didn't cut and run. Jamie Dimon relief cutting running Our global corporate investment bank competes with Goldman Sachs, Citibank, and a bunch of other banks that are in those businesses. We may have slightly different products or services, but so what? That's always been true in American business. Jamie Dimon investment different may JPMorgan was already, for the most part. Our businesses at JPMorgan share the same cash-management systems. The commercial bank, the private bank, the retail bank, they all use the branches. The cash-management system moves the money around the world - for global corporations, and for you, the consumer, too. Jamie Dimon commercial-banks retail moving I've been regulated my whole life. We have progressive taxes. It's not a free-market free-for-all. I completely understand that society has a perfectly legitimate right to put in structures and regulations and rules that make it fairer, better, cleaner. Jamie Dimon progressive regulation structure Their [American banks] big issue will be if they want to deal with the biggest companies, which are doing a lot of business overseas. How they do that is a big question. It's almost impossible to build a global investment bank from scratch. If they want to do that, they probably will have to do an acquisition. Jamie Dimon acquisition scratches issues If the numbers are right, ICBC [Industrial & Commercial Bank of China], which already earns nearly twice as much as JPMorgan. They'll probably be going a lot faster over time, and one day they can be a lot bigger than us. Jamie Dimon commercial-banks one-day numbers If you have the choice, it's far better to say, "That person has the job, and they really don't need that much of my oversight." Maybe they don't need any of it. Jamie Dimon choices jobs needs When the government gets involved in pricing, I don't think it's the right way to look at a business. Jamie Dimon government looks thinking If the economy grows, housing gets better, quicker. Jamie Dimon housing economy get-better If the government wants to do social policy, it should not be done in a quasi-public company. If you have a mortgage guarantee company which is done by the U.S. government, it should be guaranteed by the originators, i.e., the shareholder. Jamie Dimon government done guarantees Unraveling the euro is a terrible thing. This is a 50-year endeavor to get this continent together and that's a wonderful endeavor. Jamie Dimon unraveling together years Capping the size of American banks won't eliminate the needs of big businesses; it will force them to turn to foreign banks that won't face the same restrictions. Jamie Dimon size faces needs The United States has the best, deepest, widest, and most transparent capital markets in the world which give you, the investor, the ability to buy and sell large amounts at very cheap prices. That is a good thing. Jamie Dimon united-states giving world I think the way NOW characterized Smith Barney is disgraceful. I am appalled that an organization like that would not have reserved judgment (until) making their own investigation. Jamie Dimon organization way thinking The government has the right to change laws and rules and regulations. Jamie Dimon government rules-and-regulations law We don't think there are cases where people were evicted out of homes when they shouldn't have been. Jamie Dimon home people thinking All businesses tend to pass costs onto customers. Jamie Dimon cost customers Just because we're stupid doesn't mean everybody else was. Jamie Dimon stupid mean It is vital for officials and regulators to have input from people within our businesses who understand the intricacies of how financial markets operate and the consequences of certain policy decisions. Jamie Dimon input decision people
