Jamie Dimon says JP Morgan may rethink London office if Starmer ousted

JP Morgan The bank’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, said on Wednesday that they may re-evaluate the multibillion-dollar office tower planned to be built in London if British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is dismissed.

Speaking to Bloomberg in Paris, the head of America’s biggest bank said a change in leadership would not change JP Morgan’s core strategy but could force the lender to rethink its future in the British capital.

JP Morgan announced late last year that it would build a new three million square foot tower in London’s Canary Wharf financial district to house up to 12,000 employees and serve as its UK headquarters. Construction is expected to take six years, during which time JP Morgan will also renovate its existing building on London’s Bank Street.

At the time of the announcement, JP Morgan said its plans for the new building were “subject to the continuing positive business environment in the UK and the receipt of the necessary approvals and agreements at national and local levels”.

Asked on Tuesday whether the political instability gripping Britain had changed his view on the London megaproject, Dimon said “yes, if a new government is hostile to the banks.”

Dimon criticized the tax burden the bank already faces in the UK, telling Bloomberg JP Morgan has already paid $10 billion in “additional taxes” related to the construction project.

JP Morgan currently has more than 20,000 employees in the UK, including 13,000 in London. Construction and office redevelopment projects will contribute an estimated £9.9 billion ($13.4 billion) to the UK economy and create more than 7,800 jobs over the next six years, the bank said in November. Its current operations in London are estimated to contribute £7.5bn a year to the local economy.

Starmer’s leadership hangs in the balance after his party’s poor showing in last week’s local elections in England led to widespread demands for MPs to resign. As of Tuesday morning, 90 MPs from the ruling Labor Party had called on the prime minister to resign, while more than 100 people had signed a petition supporting Starmer staying in place.

The backlash against Starmer’s Labor Party saw huge gains for the right-wing Reform Britain and the left-wing Green Party in last week’s poll.

But bond vigilantes largely support Starmer and finance minister Rachel Reeves holding their positions over potential alternatives; British bonds – known as gilts – have been selling off during earlier periods of uncertainty about their political future.

Gilts sold across the board on Tuesday amid political turmoil. Investors were rallying on Wednesday morning as they reacted to Starmer’s defiance of calls to resign.

Dimon, on the other hand, gave his support to Starmer and Reeves in Tuesday’s interview.

“I think Keir Starmer is a very smart man,” he told Bloomberg. “Politics is very tough. They’re stuck with debt and deficits, they’ve inherited a lot of that, I guess it’s Rachel Reeves’ world, and they need to be tough. They need to say, ‘We’re going to do these things.’ [that] “It may not be good in the short term, but governments need to do the right things to grow the economy.”

He also praised Starmer’s approach to repairing Britain’s strained post-Brexit relations with the European Union.

“I think they need to work more closely with Europe. If you remember, Keir Starmer and [French President Emmanuel] They would work more closely,” Macron said. “Not to reverse Brexit, but to make sure that military alliances, intelligence alliances, economies have economic relationships that are good for both the continent and the UK.”

Starmer will meet Streeting on Wednesday morning ahead of King Charles’ speech to parliament, where he will outline the government’s agenda. At a routine cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the prime minister said he would continue until the end of his five-year term.

Without Starmer’s resignation, the Labor leadership fight that will decide Starmer’s fate as leader of the ruling party could only be triggered if 20 per cent of Labor MPs back his challenger. Currently this means 81 Labor MPs would need to support a potential amendment.