JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has dismissed claims that stakeholder capitalism is 'woke'
- JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon warns of an economic "hurricane" from further oil price rises.
- He told investors that the war in Ukraine continues to put pressure on commodity markets.
JPMorgan's CEO has rejected claims that stakeholder capitalism is "woke," while warning investors to brace for an economic "hurricane" as the war in Ukraine continues to put pressure on commodity markets.
Jamie Dimon, speaking at a conference organized by Autonomous Research in New York on Wednesday, said: "I'm not woke. And I think people are mistaking the stakeholder capitalism thing for being woke."
Stakeholder capitalism is the idea that companies should consider and serve the interests of all their stakeholders, and not only their shareholders.
His comments comes as US banks such as JPMorgan faced criticism in recent years for their stance against companies such as gun makers or those involved with fossil fuels.
In the interview, Dimon said some companies were going too far in their social positioning, without elaborating.
However, he said JPMorgan wanted to treat its employees with respect regardless of their ethnicity, race, or sexual orientation.
"Any senator or congressman who says that's woke, they're not thinking clearly because I want to win in the marketplace. I want the best employees, I want happy employees," Dimon said.
Speaking about the economic outlook, the JPMorgan chief said "big storm clouds" were on the way: "That hurricane is right out there down the road coming our way. We just don't know if it's a minor one or Superstorm Sandy ... and you better brace yourself."
Dimon also argued: "We're not taking the proper actions to protect Europe from what's going to happen in oil in the short run. And we're not taking the proper actions to protect you all from what's going to happen to oil in the next five years, which means it almost has to go up in price."
Despite his pessimism about the US economic outlook, he said the "bright clouds" were healthy consumer spending, low unemployment, and rising wages, and added that the banking industry was "in great shape."
"I think it's OK to hope that it will end up OK. I hope it. That's my Goldilocks, I hope," Dimon said. "Who the hell knows?"