Jamie Dimon Still the Coolest CEO on Wall Street
J.P. Morgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon doesn’t get much love from the press, regulators or lawmakers in Washington. He’s even been accused of misleading investors in the past. Don’t feel too sorry for him though; he’s still the most popular CEO on Wall Street.
Employee review website Glassdoor just released its list of the 50 most popular chief executives, as voted by company employees, and Dimon tops the list of heads of U.S. bulge bracket banks. Dimon received an 87% approval rating from the more 2,200 J.P. Morgan employees who took part in the survey, beating out the top men at Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Wells Fargo.
The only other chief executive of the six largest U.S. banks to make the list was Goldman’s Lloyd Blankfein, who received an 85% approval rating.
Perhaps the most amazing nugget buried in the survey is that Dimon’s approval rating actually increased one percentage point from last year, despite the “London Whale” trading debacle, his plans to cut some 17,000 employees and the, shall we say, misinformation he provided to Congress.
Disregard the recent negative press, and Dimon’s high approval rating among employees makes more sense. The bank emerged fairly well from the economic crisis and, before last year’s $6.2 billion trading loss, J.P. Morgan was regarded by many as the best run bank on Wall Street. It also doesn’t hurt that Dimon continues to pony up for employees, even during tough times.
During the latest investor call, J.P. Morgan said one of its priorities moving forward is to attract “the best talent” and “maintain pay for performance culture.” A warm thought for those who remain at the bank.
The Wild West (eFinancialCareers)
There’s still one place in the financial sector where all-cash bonuses are commonplace, and golden hellos and guarantees are still used to sway talent from one firm to another – insurance. However, remuneration specialists suggest regulatory intervention is long overdue.
Scots Eyeing Global Expansion (eFinancialCareers)
Scottish fund managers like Standard Life Investments (SLI) are looking to hire hundreds globally as their assets continue to balloon. SLI, for example, is adding people in its Boston office while building out its equities function in the U.K.
Standard Chartered Chairman John Peace was forced to issue an eye-opening apology on Thursday for publicly contending that the U.K. bank didn’t willingly violate sanctions through its dealings with Iranian clients. Authorities demanded he retract the comments, which contradicted the settlement the bank made last year when it acknowledged that it disguised the transactions to avoid detection of regulators.
New Private Equity Group Formed (Bloomberg)
Private equity firm TPG Capital has hired Douglas Paolillo, former managing director at Blackstone-owned GSO Capital Partners, to run a newly-created group that will manage collateralized loan obligations. No word yet on if he’ll make new hires to fill out the group.
No Volcker Chains (Financial News)
Unaffected by the Volcker rule, Australia's Macquarie Capital is pouring money into its U.S. private equity investments. The firm poached Brian Sauvigne from Morgan Stanley last week to help run its financial sponsors group in New York.
Déjà Vu All Over Again (Bloomberg)
Stephen Walsh, chief investment officer of Legg Mason’s bond unit, Western Asset Management, plans to retire in March of next year. S. Kenneth Leech, who held the role from 1998 to 2008, will succeed him.
Rengan Rajaratnam, the brother of jailed Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam, has been charged in connection with the same insider trading probe that took down his sibling. The statute of limitations on the case was to run out next week.
Buzz Around the Office
Always Dress for Success (MSN)
A Taiwanese fugitive named Wu was arrested this week after an English-speaking police officer noticed a strange word printed on his t-shirt and asked for ID. It said “WANTED.” Wu speaks no English and didn’t know what the shirt said.
List of the Day: Foot in Mouth
If you’re looking to keep off your boss’s bad side, avoid saying these phrases.
- I’m tired.
- Sorry, I can’t.
- I’m voting for ___ come November.
