Jamie Dimon weighs in on interest rate cuts, the economy, and student loan crisis

To call Jamie Dimon an influencer is an understatement. He's a center of gravity around whom others orbit. Dimon took over JPMorgan Chase in 2005, just a few years before the financial crisis struck. He has since turned the bank into the country's second-most lucrative business, raking in $32 billion in profits last year, the chairman of the powerful Business Roundtable and a board member at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Dimon is reportedly a billionaire. He's here to talk about the changes that most profoundly shape the economy and what he's learned up close from weathering them and optimizing them.

Hello, everyone, and welcome to "Influencers." I'm Andy Serwer, and welcome to our guest, JPMorgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon. Jamie, nice to see you.

JAMIE DIMON: Thrilled to be here.

ANDY SERWER: So we're in this new flagship branch of the bank. And I want to ask you about that. But first, I have to ask you, Jamie, first off about the economy and the stock market. The stock market's at a record high essentially. And yet we have a trade war with China, trade disputes in North America and Europe, and rising tensions with Iran. How do you reconcile those two?

JAMIE DIMON: The market's sometimes inscrutable. But if you actually look at geopolitics, they really affect the global economy. They could. You know, these things get worse. But they really affect the global economy. I think trade is serious.

So we have United States, for example, is a very strong consumer, good balance sheet, household formation. Wages are going up, particularly at the low end. Consumer confidence is very high. And business confidence has been very high, but it's been rattled a little bit by trade.

So we've seen a little bit as business confidence drop, business investment drop. People are worried about the supply lines. And I think that may be hampering the economy a little bit. It's kind of "A Tale of Two Cities."

ANDY SERWER: And consumer confidence is down a little bit today.

JAMIE DIMON: It's down a little bit, but still quite high.

ANDY SERWER: Right.

JAMIE DIMON: And so, you know, we have those two things collide. And what affects what, I don't really know. The better thing is to have a deal in China. There are serious trade issues, you know. So we all want the president to deal with the issues seriously, which he's been doing. A resolution would be good. But we don't expect a quick resolution at this point.

ANDY SERWER: What do you expect out of the G20 in Osaka later this week?

JAMIE DIMON: Yeah. I think the best you can expect is that they have a good meeting, that that they start renegotiating that the tariffs are off for now and give the teams a chance to negotiate a deal, which maybe, if we're lucky, it could be done by the end of the year.

ANDY SERWER: So let's talk about this branch. I mean, obviously you guys have invested a lot here. But I thought that all banks were doing were shutting branches down. And yet, you know, this is a whole new way of doing banking for consumers.

JAMIE DIMON: Yeah, people in business, you always look at facts. I mean, we have a million people a day visit branches. So Millennials are doing it less, but they're still doing it. We've got 50 million people on digital. We've got 21 million different customers a year going to a branch.

These branches support local small businesses. They support middle-market companies. They support consumers. So-- and these new branches are great. So we started this whole expansion, 400 new branches in 20 major cities, right at the heart of some of our competitors, in some cases. And we always-- we love new formats.

But this format is meant to be a flagship branch and a community center. So that when the people come here, those are coming through, we have a thing called Chase Chats. So you come here for a small business or individuals talking about investing or starting small businesses, you know, but have community groups come in and talk about some of things we do to help affordable housing. So we hope that these things will be just great for-- for JPMorgan Chase. And we're thrilled to be on the expansion trail again.

ANDY SERWER: I mean, it's very experiential, right, isn't it?

JAMIE DIMON: And that expansion trail is thousands and thousands of jobs.

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[babyimHOME]

Listening to this guy for many years, I've picked up on that he speaks intelligently UNTIL it's in his self interest to say otherwise.

[jamesrattenborg]

A high protein low carbohydrate and no sugar diet would cause health care cost to go down in the trillions of dollars. But you must remember that sugar and high fructose corn syrup and excessive breads and carbohydrates are big business for drug companies and heart surgeons, and the sugar food industry.

[bobbymounts]

I love that they brought in politics without making it too political or biased. Great approach.

[jamesrattenborg]

With the age of the internet, college tuition should go down as many people can get a degree online. This saves the cost of heat, electricity, and building maintenance.

[rof]

Thanks for monitoring all our transactions Jamie. Too bad no one is monitoring yours.

[iFreeThink]

Vietnamese people are SUPPOSED to criticize people's money math.

Not a crime.

[robertcalamusso]

Dimon is a National Great !!

🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸☮️

[preston]

JD is a national treasure, happy he is on our team 👏🇺🇸

[AlphasPath]

As is evident from some of the comments here, Jamie gets quite a bit of misdirected hate for the overall misdoings of the entire indutry. Let's be fair. During the 08 crises Chase was one of the cleanest banks (by Lehman standards). I think the man has done a great job as CEO thus far. His level of intellect, awareness and experience is unrivalled throughout the industry. Banks afterall are businesses and must profit to sustain operation. Can't blame him for that. Stop hating on success so that you may have some too.

[marlenesoifer]

I am definitely appreciating your opinion ACTION

[davidanful]

„I dont know I have to think about it“ 😆

[rajgopinoth]

Chase makes 32B Arbitraging interest rates between the Fed rate and credit cards, mortgages, and most other forms of loans. . It's easy profit and the financial sector continues to erode what's left of capitalism. When asked a question about the disparity between CEO pay and employee pay, he completely punted.

[MR-posu]

Billionaire from innovating nothing... this is the perfect example of the times we live in...

[jamiekloer]

I like his ideas and his way of thinking about the future.

[bjkarana]

Politicians seem to focus on problems, while business owners like Mr. Dimon seem to focus on solutions to problems.

[marlenesoifer]

I am pri ledged communication tapped so slows me up.TRUTH

[iFreeThink]

Also, people seem to never get customers.

They have the time to see me solve problems.

[lydiayuna]

is he the guy who said "Bitcoin is a scam" years ago and now invest heavily into bitcoin ? > <

[iFreeThink]

Lol.
Some people end up taking two decades longer.

But it takes money and effort to deal with that for two more decades.

[ryanshaeffer]

I agree with one thing, The red tape is slowing down growth