Jamie Dimon Ambiguates About A Recession

Some of the largest banks in the country— JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup—kicked off the official start to earnings season on Friday with relatively upbeat results and comments from their top managements. All three banks beat earnings expectations for Q2. BlackRock did so as well.

In June 2022, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned that the economy could be in a recession by about now. Now he sounds more optimistic. American consumers are still driving the US economy, which “continues to be resilient,” Dimon statedon Friday. “Consumer balance sheets remain healthy, and consumers are spending, albeit a little more slowly,” he said. However, he once again noted that consumers’ excess savings are slowly being drained. While job growth remains strong, he said there are still “salient risks in the immediate view,” including stubborn inflation, the risk of more rate hikes from the Federal Reserve, and geopolitical tensions. “While we cannot predict with any certainty how these factors will play out, we are currently managing the firm to reliably meet the needs of our customers and clients in all environments,” he said.