Damage control: JPMorgan hopes Jamie Dimon’s China joke isn’t costly

JPMorgan Chase & Co. chief Jamie Dimon knew as soon as the words came out of his mouth that the joke about China could land him in hot water.

“I was just in Hong Kong, I made a joke that the Communist Party is celebrating its 100th year. So is JPMorgan. And I’ll make you a bet we last longer,” he said on Tuesday at a Boston event. Then he added: “I can’t say that in China. They probably are listening anyway.”

Dimon, no stranger to brashness, also knew the bank would have to engineer a hasty retreat. Soon, members of the firm’s government-relations team and China offices were corralled to discuss the remarks and decide whether to acknowledge them or let them lie. Some 18 hours later, when it became clear that the comments attracted global attention, Dimon issued a statement of regret.

“Hundreds of individuals, companies and organisations have apologised for hurting the feelings of the Chinese Communist Party,” said Isaac Stone Fish, founder of Strategy Risks, which specialises in corporate relationships with China. The way Dimon said that he regrets his comment “is a smarter way to do it.”

Dimon’s remarks, made during a visit to the Boston College Chief Executives Club, follow a slew of domestic and international trips as JPMorgan’s chief executive officer continues to tout a US economic boom that’s also put him at the front of Wall Street’s return-to-office push. But his recent travel efforts have been somewhat problematic – the quarantine exemption he earned for his Hong Kong visit, a dispensation also afforded to actress Nicole Kidman, garnered much local criticism.

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Now he’s having to downplay his Boston comments – and it’s not the first time. Dimon has a history of provocative remarks that he’s been forced to walk back. In 2018, he vowed at a philanthropy event that he could beat Donald Trump in an election because he was smarter than the president, only to put out a statement hours later saying he shouldn’t have said it.

Dimon’s brag and apology reminded another Wall Street chief executive whose firm is a big JPMorgan shareholder of Lloyd Blankfein’s joke years ago that Goldman Sachs was doing “God’s work.” The attempts bank bosses make to be witty take on lives of their own, said the executive, who asked for anonymity to avoid connecting his name to a mess. Dimon will also likely get through any fallout, just as Blankfein did, but the distraction will be unwelcome, the executive said.

The mea culpa underscores JPMorgan’s desire to keep cordial relations in China, where it has nearly $US20 billion ($27.8 billion) of exposure and has ambitions to expand further. Earlier this year, the bank won approval from Chinese regulators to fully own its China securities venture and wants to maintain its good standing in the country for further licensing requests, particularly ahead of major leadership changes in the party expected next year.