JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM): New MBSs and Dimon Targeted

PULL OUT THE CHAIR FROM UNDER HIM

While JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) has been battling through some tough situations in recent years, CEO Jamie Dimon has been navigating the bank through. However, there are some pension funds which wrote a letter to stockholders saying that the bank could be coming through much better if the board of directors wasn’t being run by a chairman who is also the chief executive. Those who oversee several pension funds, including that of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), have written a resoltion calling for Dimon to step down from his chairmanship – saying that the board is having a hard time leading the bank when the person to oversees the missteps is also overseeing the “cleanup.”

The resolution comes in the wake of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) losing about $6 billion in bad derivatives deals involving a London trader.  The resolution’s supporters stated “mounting investor concerns” over the ability of the board of directors’ to oversee the operations when the chief executive is leading the board.

“It is impossible to imagine how board oversight of the company’s affairs will be strengthened while CEO Jamie Dimon leads the very board that is charged with overseeing his own shortcomings,” said Denise Nappier, Connecticut state treasurer who oversees the state’s retirement and trust funds, who is part of the group that supports the resolution to remove Dimon from the board chairmanship.

What do you think? Should mortgage-back securities again be part of the trading marketplace? If so, would you put some parameters or guidelines for trading? Is Jamie Dimon the guy for JP Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), and is there value in having a fully independent board of directors? We’d like your thoughts on these stories in the comments section below.

DISCLOSURE: I own no positions in any stock mentioned.

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