Jamie Dimon survived a challenge yesterday to his total hold on power at the largest US bank, JPMorgan Chase.

The shareholders’ rebellion that threatened to take away his Chairmanship role and leave him only as Chief Executive failed with 32 per cent backing, The Washington Post reported.

The challenge was mounted by a labour union — American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) — the New York City Comptroller’s Office and several investment fund managers at the bank’s annual meeting in Tampa, Florida.

Under Dimon’s rule, JP Morgan was one of the few US banks to emerge unscathed by the 2008 financial crisis, and he has turned year after year of record profits.

But he was also in charge during one of the most reckless trading losses in banking history — the astounding loss of $6.2 billion in 2012 from high-risk derivatives trading in London. Dimon subsequently tried to cover up the loss, a US Senate investigation found.

JPMorgan Chase has been under investigation for months for questionable business practices and has seen its reputation tarnished as one of the best-managed banks in the world.

Earlier in May, financial investigators accused the bank of a range of potentially fraudulent acts, including using manipulation to increase profits in the energy market.

The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, among seven other regulators, was investigating the bank for inaccuracies in its accounts on credit card customers and whether the bank failed to report suspicious transactions by convicted billion-dollar Ponzi scheme perpetrator Bernard Madoff, The New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported.

JPMorgan Chase has vehemently denied the accusations.

Related Topics