JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon to sell some of his stake for the first time
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Jamie Dimon and his family intend to sell 1 million of the 8.6 million shares they own.
PHOTO: ST FILE
BENGALURU - JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon will sell part of his stake in the largest US bank next year for the first time in almost 18 years at the helm.
Mr Dimon and his family intend to sell 1 million of the 8.6 million shares they own, subject to the terms of a stock trading plan, the bank said in a regulatory filing on Friday.
The sale would fetch nearly US$141 million (S$193.2 million), with a remaining stake of about US$1.07 billion, based on Thursday’s closing price. It will account for less than 10 per cent of the Dimons’ holdings, which also include performance shares that have not vested and stock options.
Mr Dimon has an estimated net worth of US$1.7 billion, according to Forbes. JPMorgan has a market capitalisation of over US$409 billion, according to LSEG data.
Mr Dimon will sell the stock for “financial diversification and tax-planning purposes,” and he “continues to believe the company’s prospects are very strong,” the bank said in the filing.
The sale is not related to leadership succession, a company spokesman said. Mr Dimon is not planning to sell more stock, but could consider doing so in the future, the spokesman added.
Mr Octavio Marenzi, chief executive of Opimas, a management consultant focused on capital markets, said the action “makes perfect sense” given Mr Dimon’s wealth is so concentrated in his company’s stock. Still, investors can view executives’ share sales as a bad sign.
“In his rhetoric, he has become more negative and quite bearish,” Mr Marenzi said. “It doesn’t look good, but they’re massaging the optics as best they can.”
Shares of JPMorgan slid 1.5 per cent in morning trading alongside peers Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo.
Mr Dimon steered JPMorgan through the 2008 financial crisis. Earlier in 2023, he also orchestrated a rescue deal for First Republic Bank after the failure of several regional banks, which fueled industry turmoil.
So far in 2023, JPMorgan shares have risen 3 per cent, outperforming the S&P 500 Banks Index, which has declined 16 per cent. REUTERS


