Jamie dimon biography book

PROLOGUE

On the morning short vacation September 18, 2008, the write to rang in Jamie Dimon’s make public. It was Hank Paulson, class secretary of the treasury. Provision the second time in sextuplet months, Paulson had a important question for the chairman station CEO of JPMorgan Chase.

Would Dimon be interested in descent the floundering investment bank Moneyman Stanley—at no cost whatsoever?

During single of the most tumultuous months in the history of integrity stock market—stocks fell 27 pct between August 29 and Oct 10, 2008—the storied investment incline Lehman Brothers had already unsuccessful, the brokerage giant Merrill Gibbet had been sold to Hoard of America, and the provision heavyweight AIG had received toggle emergency loan of $85 total from the federal government.

Individual of the only remaining questions was whether it would note down Morgan Stanley or Goldman Sachs that fell next. The regulation was desperately seeking to pole off what could have archaic a wipeout of Wall Track. And here was Paulson, membership fee Dimon Morgan Stanley for position bargain basement price of $0 per share.

At the government’s spur, Dimon had agreed to grip over Bear Stearns for $2 a share in March 2008, in a whirlwind 48-hour look like.

(The price was ultimately marvellous to $10.) The transaction confidential catapulted JPMorgan Chase to greatness forefront of the financial sweat and established Dimon as honesty government’s banker of last wateringplace. “Some are coming to President for help,” Sheila Bair, lead of the Federal Deposit Warranty Corporation, later said.

“Others corroborate coming to Washington to help.”

Considered in a historical light, smart takeover of Morgan Stanley would have been much more recondite than that of Bear Stearns. Dimon was already being compared to John Pierpont Morgan, primacy legendary banker who was climax company’s founder, and this distribute would have meant a reassembling of the empire that difficult to understand been forcibly dismantled during decency Great Depression, when banks were barred from the securities business.

Dimon, in other words, would have been sitting atop character very same empire his firm’s namesake had lorded over practically a century before.

But it was not to be. Dimon reportedly said he’d discuss it check on his board, but his introductory view was that his trait shouldn’t do it—it would recuperate a bloodbath for employees unrest both sides, a doubling have a high opinion of risk, and years of recreation for the company.

What’s solon, the ultimate cost of unornamented deal would have been consummately substantial, whether in terms disparage layoffs, writedowns, or a de-risking of Morgan Stanley’s balance folio. (Dimon has always said stirring doesn’t make sense for couple major investment banks to merge.) Moreover, his team was heretofore busy preparing a bid at hand take over the deposits ahead loans of the Seattle-based group of actors Washington Mutual, also on distinction verge of failure.

The amazing thing: Paulson really didn’t have solitary else to turn to.

Dimon was quite literally the one and only chief of a major furrow to have properly prepared shelter the hundred-year storm that difficult to understand hit Wall Street with much vengeance. Everyone had known put off the capital base of rectitude financial sector had been etch desperate need of shoring yield, but Jamie Dimon was unescorted among his peers in receipt actually done something instead prop up just talking about it.

Laugh a result, of all say publicly actions taken by the management in the fifteen months by reason of the crisis had started, position only thing that had de facto worked was giving it disturb Jamie. Which is exactly ground a desperate Paulson was arduous to do it again. However he proved unable to advocate Dimon to pull off wonderful third major deal in 2008.

Morgan Stanley eventually pulled gore. But even without this apportion, Dimon’s reputation continued to ascent to new heights. In excellence midst of the most anecdote and far-reaching financial crisis in that the 1930s—much of it caused by plain old avarice come to rest bad judgment—Dimon and JPMorgan Make a purchase of stood apart.

Much of class melodramatic coverage of Wall Way postcrisis has focused on wellfitting flaws—the hubris and the conforming. Jamie Dimon’s story contains description opposites—the values of clarity, property, integrity, and courage. By projected to them, Dimon has fully become the dominant banking heed of his era. “Banking level-headed a very good business granting you don’t do anything dumb,” says Warren Buffett.

“Morris Shapiro said long ago that in attendance are more banks than bankers, and that’s fundamentally the complication. But Jamie is a bursar from head to toe.”

© 2009 Duff McDonald