Dimon raises alarm level over recession risk: ‘It’s a hurricane’
Dimon raises alarm level over recession risk: ‘It’s a hurricane’
Abstract
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf voiced concern Wednesday - but varying degrees of alarm - about the future of the U.S. economy. "It's a hurricane," Dimon, the chairman and CEO of the country's largest bank, warned Wednesday during the first day of the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference in New York City. Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon both said Wednesday that credit quality remains solid, even as the risk of an economic downturn looms. " Wells Fargo's Scharf was less pessimistic, telling conference attendees that while "There's a reality that the economy has to slow," the recession may not end up being "All that deep" compared with past downturns. While the two CEOs voiced differing levels of concern, their remarks also showed that big-bank executives are increasingly worried that some sort of slowdown is imminent. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan and Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman have also cautioned about the growing risk of a U.S. downturn, with Gorman saying at an event last month "It's a 50-50 proposition."Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has maintained hope that the U.S. may achieve a "Soft or softish landing" even as high inflation forces the Fed to raise interest rates and reduce the size of its nearly $9 trillion balance sheet. Wells Fargo has continued to see "Fairly broad-based" loan growth across different types of customers, though it expects some moderation over time, Scharf said.
