Jamie Dimon Speaks: "U.S. Debt Default Would Be Catastrophic; Principal Writedowns Are Off The Table"
We've pulled some of the quotes from Dimon's speech yesterday, though there is much more in the full story.
“If anybody wants to push that button, which would be catastrophic and unpredictable, I think they are crazy,”
Dimon took issue with the concentration limitation, pointing out that it would stop J.P. Morgan from buying certain U.S. banks but wouldn’t stop a bigger foreign bank from buying the same institution.
“Concentration rules are negative for America,” Dimon said. He told reporters later that J.P. Morgan would like to make acquisitions.
Dimon also took issue with some of the derivatives rules that are being adopted based on the Dodd-Frank Act, focusing his comments on concerns that commercial companies may be forced to hold collateral, or margin, when conducting hedging derivatives transactions with big banks.
In an interview with reporters, Dimon declined to comment on whether J.P. Morgan would agree to a deal with state attorneys general that would force the institution and other banks to cut the amounts owed by some borrowers facing foreclosure. Regulators and state attorneys general are conducting a nationwide investigation into mortgage servicing practices.
“Some banks do principal write-down,” Dimon said. “But if you’re talking about principal write down for people who can pay their mortgages, that’s off the table.”
Mar 31, 2011 at 6:30 PM
Reader Comments (3)
"Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted."
Albert Einstein
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2009/07/president-obamas-favorite-banker.html
http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2009/07/jpmorgan-ceo-jamie-dimon-donat.html