The head of JP Morgan, the largest bank in the United States, has expressed significant concerns about the country’s economic future, indicating he’s ‘far more worried’ than some might believe.
Jamie Dimon has shared his apprehensions through various interviews, one of which was with Bloomberg Television. During this discussion, he emphasized the challenges the economy faces, particularly with ‘all the geopolitical stuff’.
Speaking to Bloomberg’s Tom Mackenzie, Dimon admitted he was ‘a little more nervous’ about inflation not decreasing ‘like people expect’, and he cautioned that this could ‘might be a surprise’ to the public.
He elaborated: “On the other hand, there’s a lot of spending. There’s a lot of government spending, which is inflationary too, by the way. And so, look, I don’t know. I hope for the best, plan for the worst.”
Mackenzie attempted to ease concerns by suggesting to Dimon that he was ‘not worried about a recession in 2026 for the US’. However, Dimon quickly set the record straight.
“I think it could happen in 2026,” he responded, though he clarified that he wasn’t ‘worried’ about a recession per se.
“We’ll deal with it,” he asserted. “We’ll serve our clients, will navigate through it. A lot of us been through them before. You don’t wish it, because certain people get hurt, but it could happen in 2026.”
The last recession occurred in 2020, triggered by the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. The COVID-19 recession was notably the shortest in history, lasting just two months.
Dimon’s speculations about a potential recession coincided with his remarks to the BBC, where he expressed being ‘a little worried’ about US inflation. He also mentioned the elevated risk of a significant drop in US stocks, which may not be fully appreciated by the market.
He further commented that he’s ‘far more worried’ than others about a substantial market adjustment, which could occur in as little as six months, and noted that the US had become a ‘less reliable’ partner internationally.
Dimon highlighted various factors contributing to this uncertainty, such as the geopolitical climate and government spending.
“All these things cause a lot of issues that we don’t know how to answer,” he stated.
“So I say the level of uncertainty should be higher in most people’s minds than what I would call normal.”