Do we like them?

Do we like Jamie Dimon?

Our score: 7 out of 10. Nothing harmful of his own turned up and he has spoken up on immigration and diversity, but Epstein questions and big-bank baggage hold him back.

Jamie Dimon is the boss of JPMorgan Chase, America's biggest bank, and has been for nearly two decades. He grew up in New York as the son and grandson of stockbrokers, did well at Tufts and Harvard, and rose through American Express, Travelers and Citigroup before taking over Bank One. That bank merged with JPMorgan in 2004 and he's been the face of Wall Street ever since.

The biggest stoush of the year is with Donald Trump. In January Trump sued JPMorgan and Dimon for $5 billion, alleging the bank dropped him as a customer for political reasons after January 6. Dimon had been criticised by Trump over his remarks on the Fed and immigration. I couldn't open a report showing how the case has ended, so treat it as unresolved.

On the harm check, Dimon comes out better than most CEOs. At Davos in January he said he didn't like the tone of the immigration crackdown and urged people to calm down, while backing border control. He has said the bank would keep its outreach to Black, Hispanic and LGBTQ communities despite the corporate retreat from diversity, though he did call some DEI spending wasteful and has joked about being an unwoke capitalist.

The Epstein link is the stain. JPMorgan settled two lawsuits over its dealings with Jeffrey Epstein in 2023, paying $290 million to victims and $75 million to the US Virgin Islands, without admitting liability. Dimon wasn't a defendant, and he told lawyers under oath he barely knew of Epstein before 2019. Reports say newly released Justice Department files include a 2009 Epstein email suggesting he lobby the UK on a bonus tax; the bank says Dimon never took counsel from Epstein.

Warren's July letter asked Dimon to explain, and she wanted answers by 24 July. The FT broke the story and Reuters said it hadn't seen the letter. I couldn't find his reply, so this is an open question, not a finding.

On the good side, in August the Dimons gave $12 million through their foundation to Black colleges, announced via the United Negro College Fund. It built on a long record of giving to education and economic mobility. It doesn't erase the questions, but it's real money going to real students.