JP Morgan's CEO Jamie Dimon sees growth opportunities "almost everywhere"

JP Morgan's chief executive Jamie Dimon may have already promised a wage hike and a $20bn investment programme for his bank this year, but now he has said he still sees growth opportunities "almost everywhere".

In a letter to shareholders, the head of the US banking giant said he plans to push the boundaries both in areas where JP Morgan has been a dominant player and in those where it has previously held little market share.

"We see growth opportunities even in fixed income, currencies and commodities, where we already have the Number One market share," Dimon wrote.

He also reaffirmed plans to also expand the JP Morgan Chase consumer banking business, even though "we know the competition is tough".

Dimon said he would drive expansion in areas where the bank had a smaller presence, such as Asia, and hire bankers in niches such as treasury services and custody and asset and wealth management.

"Artificial intelligence, big data and machine learning are helping us reduce risk and fraud, upgrade service, improve underwriting and enhance marketing across the firm. And this is just the beginning," Dimon added.

The influential chief executive seemingly could not resist dipping one toe into the political waters, referencing the ongoing trade spat between US President Donald Trump and China.

"We should acknowledge many of the legitimate complaints around trade. Tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade are often not fair," Dimon said.

However he added that "the Chinese government is competent and capable and it has done an extraordinarily good job of managing its emergence as the world’s second-largest economy".

On top of that, he dealt Trump another disguised blow as he wrote: "Anything that starts to resemble a trade war creates risk and uncertainty to the global economic system."

Dimon's trade advice to Trump

In a prescriptive list of how the US should help battle the perceived injustice in trade, Dimon touched on everything from revisiting and "fixing" the Trans-Pacific Partnership and tightening border control.

"We need to do a significantly better job of managing our economy if we want it to be world class," he said.

The US should define in detail what it wants from China, set out a timeline and determine what happens if this is not met, listen closely to any "legitimate complaints" which China might have and do this in partnership with its largest allies, he advised.

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