JPMorgan CEO says banking crisis puts ‘another weight on the scale’ toward recession

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said on Thursday that the recent banking crisis puts “another weight on the scale” towards recession.

“We are seeing people reduce lending a little bit, cut back a little bit, pull back a little bit,” Dimon said in an exclusive interview with CNN’s Poppy Harlow. “It won’t necessarily force a recession, but it is recessionary.”

After Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank abruptly collapsed within days of one another last month — becoming the second- and third-largest bank failures in U.S. history — it triggered fears of contagion and a more widespread banking crisis.

First Republic Bank, which also appeared to be teetering on the edge, received a $30 billion infusion as part of an industry bailout from 11 large banks, including JPMorgan Chase.

Dimon warned on Thursday that he doesn’t think the banking scare is over quite yet but said he is “hoping it will resolve rather shortly.”

“Failure is okay,” he added of the recent bank failures. “You just don’t want this domino effect.”

His comments to CNN echoed the sentiments expressed in his annual letter to shareholders on Tuesday.

“As I write this letter, the current crisis is not yet over, and even when it is behind us, there will be repercussions from it for years to come,” Dimon said.