JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says bank could spend up to $20 billion on an acquisition

NEW YORK: JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said that the bank could go for an acquisition worth up to $20 billion in coming years. He was speaking at an investor conference. The bank is sitting on a pile of cash and is scouting the right opportunities for acquisition.

Dimon said that the bank prioritised organic growth first and would look for a deal that is the right fit, WSJ reported. “You sit around a lot of management meetings, the first thing they do when they’re not doing well in organic growth is they start to bulls–t about M&A,” the WSJ report quoted Dimon as saying.  “I don’t want to hear about M&A.” Dimon clearly laid out the path for the bank, focusing primarily on organic growth.

Several banks are ramping up spending on getting technologically more efficient and integrating AI tools to increase operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. Dimon told the conference that the investment banking fees could rise by 10 per cent or more in the second quarter, according to Reuters. He also added that a lot of “big deals” were being discussed, the report said.

Corporate confidence on Wall Street has been steady amid resilient economic data despite a raging Middle East conflict sending oil prices up and fears of an inflation spike triggering an interest rate hike. The AI momentum has powered Wall Street higher, and top banks don’t want to lag behind on the boom.

Dimon also hinted at narrowing profitability as the bank’s expenses could go up by nearly $1 billion more than what was projected earlier, the Reuters report said. Dimon isn’t worried about the bank’s capital, saying “it’s not burning a hole in our pocket at all”, according to WSJ.

In 2023, JPMorgan Chase acquired First Republic Bank in a deal that helped avert a major bank failure that could have been the biggest after the 2008 financial crisis. (ANI)