JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon annual letter cites risks in geopolitics, AI, private markets
JPMorganChase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon speaks during the Reagan National Defense Forum at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, USA on December 6, 2025.
Jonathan Alcorn | Reuters
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is calling for a broad recommitment to American ideals as his bank grapples with geopolitical uncertainty, a shaky economy and the revolutionary impact of artificial intelligence.
Dimon said in his annual letter to shareholders: published mondayHe noted the nation’s 250th anniversary as “an excellent time to rededicate ourselves to the values that built this great nation of ours: freedom, liberty and opportunity.”
“The challenges we all face are significant. The list is long, but at the top are the horrific ongoing war and violence in Ukraine, the current war in Iran and broader hostilities in the Middle East, terrorist activity, and rising geopolitical tensions, especially those with China,” Dimon said. he said. “Even in challenging times, we trust that America will do what it has always done—the values that define our singular nation and sustain our leadership in the free world.”
Dimon, the longtime leader of the world’s largest bank by market value, is among the most outspoken among U.S. corporate leaders. His annual letter is not just a matter of recording his firm’s performance but also offers comprehensive perspectives on the global situation.
In his letter on Monday, Dimon noted downsides such as global conflicts, persistent inflation, private market turmoil and what he called “bad bank regulations.”
Dimon said regulations like those enacted after the 2008 financial crisis “have accomplished some good things, but they’ve also created a fragmented, slow-moving system with expensive, overlapping and excessive rules and regulations, some of which have weakened the financial system and reduced productive lending.”
He specifically cited the negative consequences of capital and liquidity requirements, the current structure of the Federal Reserve’s stress testing, and the “poorly managed” process at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Dimon also said JPMorgan’s reaction to the revised proposals for Basel 3 Endgame and the global systemically important bank (GSIB) surcharge issued by U.S. regulators last month was “mixed.”
“While it is good to see that the latest proposals for Basel 3 Endgame (B3E) and GSIB attempt to reduce the required capital increase from the 2023 proposals, there are still some aspects that are frankly absurd,” Dimon said.
The CEO said that while the overall surcharge of about 5% was proposed, the bank “must hold up to 50% more capital on the vast majority of loans to U.S. consumers and businesses compared to a large non-GSIB bank for the same group of loans.”
“Obviously this is not right and un-American,” he said.
On trade and geopolitics
Dimon described the primary risk facing his bank as geopolitical tensions, namely the wars in Ukraine and Iran and their effects on commodities and global markets, calling the war an “area of uncertainty.”
“The outcome of current geopolitical events may be the determining factor in how the future global economic order emerges,” he said. “Then it might not happen again.”
He also talked about the “realignment of economic relations around the world” brought about by US trade policy. What US President Donald Trump did tariffs that marked his second term in office, imposing higher taxes on dozens of trading partners and categories of imports.
“The trade wars are clearly not over, and many countries should be expected to analyze how and with whom they should make trade arrangements,” Dimon said. “While some of this is necessary for national security and resilience, which are the most important elements, it is difficult to understand what the long-term effects will be.”
In private markets
Dimon also recently spoke Private markets are also experiencing turmoil, as fears about loans to software companies have spurred massive repayment demands from private loan funds.
“In general, private lenders don’t tend to have a lot of transparency or definitive valuation ‘signatures’ on their loans — which increases the chance for people to sell if they think the environment is going to get worse, even if actual losses change little,” Dimon said. he said.
The executive added that actual losses are currently higher than they should be based on the environment.
“No matter how this plays out, it should be expected that at some point insurance regulators will insist on tighter ratings or discounts, which will likely lead to greater demand for capital,” he said.
in AI
Dimon reiterated Monday that the pace of adoption of artificial intelligence is unlike any technology that has come before it. He said the application would be “transformative” but he has yet to see how the AI revolution will unfold.
“Overall, investment in AI is not a speculative bubble; rather, it will yield significant benefits. But we cannot predict the ultimate winners and losers in AI-related industries at this time,” Dimon said.
“We will not bury our heads in the sand. We will use all technology while also using artificial intelligence to do a better job for our customers (and employees),” he wrote.
JPMorgan is at the forefront of Wall Street firms introducing artificial intelligence in every aspect of its business. Last year, JPMorgan Chief Analytics Officer Derek Waldron He gave CNBC an early demonstration of how he uses agency AI to speed business and improve outcomes for customers and shareholders.
In February, Dimon said artificial intelligence was reshaping JPMorgan’s workforce and that the bank had “major relocation plans” for employees.
“We focused on some ‘known and predictable’ events and some ‘known unknown’ events,” he said. “But massive technological changes, such as artificial intelligence, always have second- and third-order effects that can profoundly affect society. … We should be watching for such transformations, too.”
— CNBC’s Leslie Picker and Ritika Shah contributed to this report.
