Banking’s a funny old game. At the beginning of April, JPMorgan seemed to be coasting through another comfortable season as industry leader.
Chairman and chief executive Jamie Dimon shared his thoughts on life in a letter to shareholders on April 7 that ran to an impressive 66 pages, complete with many league tables featuring JPMorgan at the top.
On April 14, Dimon and chief financial officer Jennifer Piepszak announced first-quarter results that were also strong. Investment banking fees of $3 billion set a new quarterly record, helped by equity underwriting and JPMorgan’s number-one ranking in leveraged finance.
But overconfidence may have set in.
April also saw fallout from the Deliveroo IPO, as a deal launched on March 31 slumped in price, with lead managers JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs taking much of the blame for what was dubbed “the worst IPO in London’s history”.
And later in the month, JPMorgan took sole charge of the proposed €4 billion financing of a planned European Super League of top football clubs.
This proposal managed the remarkable feat of uniting virtually all consumers of the product – football fans – along with most of the producers, in the form of players and managers, in opposition.
Politicians
