JPMorgan CEO says unlikely to acquire other struggling banks

First Republic Bank

16/05/2023 17:46

By Nupur Anand and Niket  Nishant
       NEW YORK, May 16 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co  JPM.N 
CEO Jamie Dimon said that it is "unlikely" that the bank will
acquire any other struggling lender, weeks after it acquired the
failed First Republic Bank.
    "It [First Republic] will further help advance our wealth as
well as other initiatives," Dimon said at the bank's annual
shareholder meeting on Tuesday, adding that they are in the
process of integrating the lender.
    Dimon's latest statement comes just two weeks after JPMorgan
bought a majority of First Republic Bank's assets in a rescue
effort backed by the U.S. government.
    First Republic was the third major U.S. institution to fail
in two months, and JPMorgan agreed to take $173 billion of the
bank's loans, $30 billion of securities and $92 billion of
deposits.
    The CEO reiterated his faith in the financial soundness of
the regional banking system and said regulators could not have
evaded the risks that led to the wipeout of three U.S. banks.
    "It is unlikely that any recent change in regulatory
requirements would have made a difference," he said.
    In the shareholder meeting on Tuesday while all management
proposals passed, all of the motions submitted by shareholders
failed. 
    Four of the eight shareholder proposals secured more than
30% of votes, which is typically enough to get management's
attention. Among those, a proposal calling for an independent
board chair garnered the highest number of votes, according to a
preliminary tally.
    Keeping chair and CEO roles separate has been a thorny issue
for investors and corporate management across America, with some
arguing firms with separate roles do not necessarily perform
better. 
    A shareholder proposal on tweaking rules under which
shareholders can call for a special shareholder meeting also got
more than 30% of backing.
    Another proposal with more than 30% support suggested that
the bank publish a transition plan that describes how it intends
to align its financing activities with its 2030 sectoral
greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.

 (Reporting by Nupur Anand in New York and Niket Nishant in
Bengaluru; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
 ((Nupur.Anand@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 240 2975;))