Jamie Dimon, outspoken CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co, may stop coming in on quarterly conference calls, leaving CFO Marianne Lake to answer to analysts instead.
Following the Q&A on the bank’s quarterly call last week, Dimon said: ‘Before you all go, I just want to tell you one of these days I’m not going to come in this call.’
Adding that it wasn’t about avoiding bad news, he said that Lake is doing ‘such a good job that I’ve become unnecessary to be in all of them and I can obviously go do other things.
‘So don’t be surprised if one of these days I don’t show up, don’t read anything into it.’
Dimon has repeatedly fought off shareholder resolutions trying to force him to give up his dual role as CEO and chairman of JPMorgan, with pressure rising after the 2012 ‘London Whale’ losses of $6.2 bn. This year, a vote to separate the roles of chairman and CEO after Dimon steps down received support from 36 percent of voters.
Lake is often seen as a potential successor for Dimon, who says he wants to keep the top spot at the bank for another five years, according to Bloomberg.
The news site adds that among the five largest US banks by assets, only Lloyd Blankfein, CEO at Goldman Sachs, skips the quarterly call.
