NEW YORK — JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon said his firm could repay U.S. government rescue funds “tomorrow.”
Dimon, calling money received through the Troubled Asset Relief Program “a scarlet letter” and “the TARP baby,” said on a conference call with reporters Thursday that the New York-based bank is awaiting guidance from the Treasury Department. “We could pay it back tomorrow,” he said.
The 53-year-old CEO received $25 billion in U.S. government rescue funds last year. Dimon is among banking industry CEOs who have said pay limits imposed by lawmakers are pushing many employees to foreign or non-TARP firms.
Dimon said he was counting on the government being “equal” in allowing banks deemed healthy to repay the TARP money. “I don’t think any competitor should be allowed to pay it back faster than we do,” he said.
Goldman Sachs raised $5 billion this week in a share sale to help pay back the $10 billion it took from the government.
“I don’t see why a company with that kind of capital would have to raise capital,” Dimon said on a call with analysts. “What Goldman did is what Goldman did. It has nothing to do with us.”
