JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is on the prowl to further expand the nation’s largest bank – possibly by snapping up a wealth-management firm or a private credit business, bankers tell On The Money.
While investors shouldn’t necessarily expect a deal imminently, players involved with bank-focused mergers and acquisitions are scrambling to come up with deals that might appeal to Dimon, sources said.
The frenzy is ramping up after Dimon’s recent revelation that the bank could spend as much as $20 billion on a big acquisition, people with direct knowledge of the matter say.
On its face, JPMorgan Chase seems to do it all: investment banking and commercial banking; trading, small business lending, credit cards and savings accounts. But there are gaps in its model that can be filled or grown through dealmaking.
With $4.5 trillion in assets and $2.68 trillion in deposits, bankers say JPMorgan Chase has already exceeded a federal regulatory “cap” that hamstrings bank acquisition growth; barring a waiver for a government-induced bailout, it will face resistance buying a traditional bank.
Private credit, which is essentially a shadow lending business with fewer regulatory controls, has hit some rough spots, but it remains a big and lucrative business for Wall Street and private equity and Dimon has mentioned expanding in this area.
One private equity executive said that in the days following Dimon’s remarks, rumors circulated in PE circles that JPM might be interested in buying the Carlyle Group’s in-house private credit division, Carlyle Global Credit, if it should ever be put on the market.
Dimon has said some not-so-nice things about private credit’s well publicized issues (Dimon says he’s worried about “cockroaches” infecting the business.) That said, I am told he likes the business when it’s run well like Carlyle’s global credit business that manages about $200 billion in assets (stuff like private lines of credit, various types of non-banking lending etc.).
The firm as a whole is valued at just about $16 billion, so you would think it fits neatly into Dimon’s stated spending budget.
Still, it would be a monster deal (a person with knowledge of the thinking of Carlyle’s management says it’s not for sale) and, probably the biggest since Dimon became CEO in 2006. Recall, his purchase of Bear Stearns was big in terms of scale (14,000 employees and an array of businesses) but it was done during the 2008 financial crisis and he got it on the cheap (just $1.4 billion). He purchased the ailing First Republic Bank in 2023 during the regional bank crisis for $10.6 billion, which was the largest dollar amount he spent so far.
Another business Dimon has been eyeing, On The Money has learned, is so-called infrastructure management and investment, much the same way money-management powerhouse BlackRock ventured into this business with its 2024 purchase of Global Infrastructure Partners.
“I don’t see him doing anything with a traditional bank,” is how one rival CEO described Dimon’s thinking.
The executive cited regulations of so-called systemically important financial institutions that are deemed too big to fail. JPMorgan falls squarely into that category to stay the least, and receives significant scrutiny because of federally insured deposits in checking and savings accounts.
This executive added that wealth management – particularly for high-net worth individuals – is another area Dimon has targeted for growth.
A JPMorgan executive close to Dimon who is authorized to speak to the press said he doesn’t expect any immediate moves. His boss’s “first priority is organic growth, but you always have to keep your eyes open for small acquisitions.” He added that “Jamie doesn’t have anything in mind right now, and we have plenty of organic opportunities. He’s very practical–buying at a good price.”
I’ve known Dimon for years; he was mentored on Wall Street by legendary dealmaker Sandy Weill, partnering with him to create Citigroup through a series of acquisitions. He became CEO of JPM by merging the regional bank he ran, Bank One, with JPMorgan, which had just acquired the money-center bank Chase some six years earlier.
In other words, he knows how to do deals and won’t hesitate to pounce for the right one.