JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon wants the U.S. government to ramp up strategies against Russia, including sending more troops to NATO borders, restructuring supply chains, and boosting energy supply with “Marshall Plan” measures, according to his annual letter to investors.
Citing “grave new geopolitical realities,” Dimon, one of the most high-profile corporate executives to voice his opinions on the war in Ukraine, urged a stronger U.S. position amidst his prediction that the bank could lose up to $1 billion from its exposure to Russia. Democratic nations have a responsibility to stand “against all forms of evil,” his letter said. While global oil, commodity and agricultural markets have been impacted by the Russian aggression and subsequent sanctions, Dimon stressed the danger of the war’s broader consequences –“the restructuring of the global order.”
In March, JPMorgan announced that it was winding down its Russia operations, which employed 160 people.
Using the name of President Harry Truman’s 1948 program that aided Europe after World War II, Dimon suggested a Marshall Plan be developed to reduce the continent’s reliance on Russian fossil fuels. His idea comes in the wake of Russia’s requirement, announced in early April, that foreign countries pay for gas in rubles. G7 countries have not complied.
“As we are seeing – and know from past experience – oil and gas supply can be easily disrupted, either physically or by additional sanctions, significantly impacting energy prices. National security demands energy security for ourselves and for our allies overseas,” he said.
He also wrote that the U.S. should pledge billions of dollars to rebuilding Ukraine and supporting migrants in Europe.
