Investors Want JPMorgan Chase To Replace Jamie Dimon As Chairman

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A coalition of investors are pushing JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) to remove Jamie Dimon from his role as chairman of the bank, and asked the bank to name a new independent board chairman.

Investors Want JPMorgan Chase To Replace Jamie Dimon As Chairman

According to the report of CNBC, the investors want to split the current role of Dimon as Chairman and CEO of the company. The coalition’s composed of the AFSCME Employees Pension Plan, the Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds, Hermes Equity Ownership Services and the NYC Pension Funds with a collective stockholdings in the bank worth approximately $820 million.

Concerns regarding the oversight of the board of directors amid the losses incurred by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) related to the trades conducted by London Whale, Bruno Iksil prompted the coalition to file its proposal to strip Dimon’s role as chairman of the bank. The group pointed out in a press statement that the board failed to demonstrate that it is capable to fully manage a large and complex balance sheet.

A recent report released by JP Management Task Force found that the banks CDS derivative positions managed by its London Whale trader in 2012 was “flawed, complex, poorly reviewed, poorly executed, and poorly monitored.”

New York City Comptroller, John Liu said, “Unchecked risk-taking and oversight failures have cost JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) more than $6 billion in losses and seriously damaged its reputation. Without an independent board chair, JPMorgan will be unable to restore investor confidence and ensure future compliance — both integral to protecting and creating long-term value.” Liu serves as investment advisor, custodian, and trustee of the New York City pension fund.

Shareholders of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) will vote on the proposal during the upcoming annual meeting of the bank in May.

Last week, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) CEO, Lloyd Blankfein told Bloomberg that he has no plans of leaving the bank, although he “would love to be wanted” as Treasury Secretary. According to him, he “would love to be wanted” for the role, it seems a “distant hypothetical.” Blankfein said, “The combination of this being who I am and what I do and having absolutely no other interests makes me think this is what I’ll be doing for a while.”

On the other hand, Third Point’s Dan Loeb who recently revealed a long position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)praised its CEO James Morgan. He thinks the Morgan has the ability to steer the bank in the right direction. He expects the bank to realize the full value of its strength by improving its Fixed Income, Currency, and Commodities (FICC) this year. He also expressed his discontent with the performance of Roy Bostock, one of the board members of Morgan Stanley. According to him, Bostock is “not up to the job of turning around great institutions.”

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