JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon warned Friday that the economy faces "considerable turbulence," even as his bank reported a rise in first quarter profits, and said, "We continue to believe it is prudent to maintain excess capital and ample liquidity in this environment."
The bank’s earnings of $14.64 billion rose 9% from the year-ago quarter. But JPMorgan also set aside 75% more provisions to cover future loan losses — a sign that it expects borrowers to run into more problems ahead.
Dimon said investment banking "clients have become more cautious amid an increase in market volatility driven by geopolitical and trade-related tensions," but his bank's Wall Street operations still performed well during the early chaos of President Trump's trade war.
JPMorgan’s equity trading operation set a record in quarterly revenue, and all trading pulled in its biggest quarter of revenue since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Trading revenue also surged during the quarter at one of its Wall Street rivals, Morgan Stanley (MS).
In discussing the current economic turbulence roiling markets, Dimon cited "potential negatives" of tariffs and trade wars, sticky inflation, high fiscal deficits, and volatility. He also mentioned "potential positives" of tax reform and deregulation.
"As always, we hope for the best but prepare the firm for a wide range of scenarios," Dimon said, adding that the bank would maintain excess capital and liquidity after buying back $7 billion of common stock during the first quarter.
Dimon also made it clear he is keeping a close eye on the turmoil in the bond market after yields on Treasurys soared in the last week.
"Every minute," he told reporters.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon on Wednesday was interviewed by Maria Bartiromo on the "Mornings with Maria" program, on the Fox Business Network. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) ·ASSOCIATED PRESS
However, he downplayed fears that turmoil could result in the loss of the US status as a traditional safe haven during times of stress.
"America is still a pretty good place in a turbulent world," he told reporters, saying that "this is still the most prosperous nation on the planet."
Other Wall Street CEOs on Friday also cited the effects of the turmoil surrounding Trump’s trade actions, which include a 145% tariff on China and separate duties on other countries and industries.
“Uncertainty and anxiety about the future of markets and the economy are dominating client conversations,” BlackRock (BLK) CEO Larry Fink said in a statement. BlackRock is the world's largest money manager.
He told analysts "the sweeping tariff announcements went further than I could have imagined in my 49 years in finance," and warned the implications could be widespread.
"This isn’t Wall Street versus Main Street," Fink said. "The market downturn impacts millions of ordinary people’s retirement savings."
Wells Fargo (WFC) CFO Mike Santomassimo told reporters, "We do expect that all these tariffs will have an impact on growth this year in the US, and I think many customers are trying to evaluate what that really means to them."
That was also before Trump decided to pause for 90 days the implementation of so-called reciprocal tariffs for many countries, stoking hope on Wall Street the steep duties could be negotiated lower.
Some on Wall Street gave Dimon credit for swaying the president, since Trump did mention that he had seen and liked Dimon’s Wednesday morning appearance on Fox Business Network’s "Mornings with Maria." The interview had been scheduled before the initial tariff announcements, according to a person close to Dimon.
"He was very good," Trump said outside the White House Wednesday after announcing his 90-day pause.
Dimon told reporters Friday he was not "conscious" of whether the president might have been watching but mentioned that he does speak to members of the administration from time to time.
"I just try to tell people what I think about certain things," he said.
U.S. President Donald Trump greets JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and other guests at the White in 2017. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) ·Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
Wall Street is also reckoning with other forms of chaos that still have the potential to roil the financial system.
The Financial Times reported this week that hedge funds were receiving the steepest margin calls since the 2020 COVID-19 crisis, meaning Wall Street banks were asking them to come up with cash to cover losses. That may have triggered more fire sales of losing positions.
Banks have plenty to worry about if the tariff turmoil worsens. Even without a recession, an economic slowdown sparked by a trade war could strangle M&A deals and demand for loans.
"I am of the view that we are still on pause," Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick told analysts. "We don't know whether the economy is going to contract. We don't know what the rate of inflation will be when the transmission effects come through."
"We believe that the pause will be frustrating at times...that deals take longer to print," he added.
JPMorgan made it clear that it is not yet seeing any of these potential tariff-related problems show up in a big way in its results, and its CFO told reporters there was no reason to withdraw its future outlook.
On Friday, Dimon said the evidence of a pullback among clients is mostly anecdotal at this point, with some companies starting to retreat.
"People are pulling back on doing deals, not just big ones, but middle market companies, and being very cautious about investment," he told reporters.
And he acknowledged to analysts that if a global trade war unfolds "we will be in the crosshairs. That's what's going to happen."
"We're deeply embedded in these other countries...but I do think some clients or some countries will, you know, will feel differently about American banks, and you know, we'll just have to deal with that."
David Hollerith is a senior reporter for Yahoo Finance covering banking, crypto, and other areas in finance.
