Dimon’s shareholder letter: A subtle fintech strategy

In his annual letter to shareholders, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon shared his concerns about global volatility caused by the war in Ukraine, inflation, as well as consumer confidence. He also called for a “Marshall Plan” for decarbonization.

Why should we care?
Perhaps most important to fintechs, Dimon felt the need to justify his outsized spending on acquisitions and tech overhauls. JPMorgan’s expenses are slated to rise by 8% to $77B this year, including $700M in “incremental expenses” related to acquisitions. He declined to cite the cost of launching a digital consumer bank in the U.K. over the past year; ditto for JPMorgan’s new 40% stake in C6, a Brazilian neobank. “We have the talent and know-how to deliver these through cutting-edge technology, allowing us to harness the full range of these capabilities from all our businesses,” Dimon wrote. “We can apply what we have learned in our leading U.S. franchise and vice versa… We may be wrong on this one, but I like our hand.” Dimon seemed to brush off concerns about aggressive fintech competition and acquisition by focusing on larger matters at hand, playing into his role as a geopolitics guru and financial leader respected by investors and politicians alike. His prophecies on the Fed and energy costs may be spot on, but they also serve to assuage fintech-wary investors that a stable leader remains at JPMorgan’s helm.