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Last week, in a meeting of the Joint Economic Committee, Republican Kevin Brady (Texas) asked Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, if he would resign "for the sake of our jobs." Michael Burgess (R-Texas) told Geithner, face-to-face, "I don't think you should fired, I think you should have never been hired." And in a television interview, Democrat Peter DeFazio (Oregon) said America needs a new economic team.
Jamie Dimon
We have reports out from Bloomberg and the New York Post speculating that J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon might be a replacement for Geithner, although most believe such a move will be "a stretch."
People familiar with Dimon's thinking said he "would love to serve his country," and in recent weeks Dimon has had a noticeably higher profile in Washington, making frequent visits to government officials and earlier this month publishing an op-ed in the Washington Post that makes the case for letting large institutions that take big risks collapse rather than receive government aid.
It appears that Jamie Dimon has a close personal relationship with Barack Obama, has known him for a very long time, and is a "frequent" visitor to the White House, although the official White House visitor logs released recently, only shows Dimon on the premises twice.
From Bloomberg: Dimon’s Missteps
Not that he hasn’t stumbled. When the housing collapse
started, for example, Dimon viewed it as an opportunity to expand
in the California market for jumbo mortgages. He was also slow to
exit the business of purchasing mortgages originated by outside
brokers.
Nevertheless, Dimon has maintained a stronger stronger balance sheet than rivals. JPMorgan’s tangible common shareholders equity was 3.4 percent of assets at the end of last year. This has become a key measure of balance-sheet health for investors. While not necessarily stellar, JPMorgan’s level compares with about 2.7 percent at Wells Fargo Co., Isecond biggest after JPMorgan in market value among U.S. banks.
Nevertheless, Dimon has maintained a stronger stronger balance sheet than rivals. JPMorgan’s tangible common shareholders equity was 3.4 percent of assets at the end of last year. This has become a key measure of balance-sheet health for investors. While not necessarily stellar, JPMorgan’s level compares with about 2.7 percent at Wells Fargo Co., Isecond biggest after JPMorgan in market value among U.S. banks.
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