JPMorgan’s board is pulling out all the stops for Jamie Dimon.
The bank’s presiding director, Lee Raymond, wrote a letter to shareholders yesterday backing Dimon as he fights to remain chairman.
Raymond, along with the board’s chairman of corporate governance, William Weldon, ticked off a number of reasons why Dimon deserves to remain chairman and CEO.
The endorsement comes ahead of the bank’s May 21 annual meeting in Tampa, Fla., where shareholders will vote on a nonbinding measure to split the roles.
The bank has been fighting calls to strip Dimon of his chairmanship in the wake of the “London Whale” scandal.
Weldon and Raymond cited the bank’s handling of the $6.2 billion trading debacle as a reason to back Dimon and the board.
“The board ensured that those directly responsible for the losses incurred over $100 million in compensation clawbacks, and are no longer with the company,” the directors wrote in their letter.
They also cited the bank’s “record earnings” and a 15 percent increase in the firm’s tangible common equity, which is a measure of bank performance.
“During Dimon’s tenure, and largely with the current board in place, our stock has outperformed the industry,” the letter notes.
Dimon’s battle to keep both titles is expected to be particularly close this year after 40 percent of shareholders last year voted in favor of a split.
Sources said that Dimon wants to keep both roles and has indicated to shareholders and insiders that he may not be inclined to remain at the firm if he loses the chairman’s seat.