Business

Odd couple sends a message

Dimon and Blankfein — Simon and Garfunkel they are not.

But when Wall Street’s two most powerful bankers do a public show like they did last week, it’s done to send a message.

Both JPMorgan’s chief, Jamie Dimon, and his Goldman Sachs counterpart, Lloyd Blankfein, have been under siege by Washington and its attack pawns. Blankfein survived his; now it’s Dimon’s turn in the line of fire.

But the idea that Lloyd was providing Jamie with counsel is ridiculous. These two men are like the alpha-male lions on the Serengeti plains: They play for keeps.

It’s like saying Coke is going to help Pepsi with its problems. Come on, no one should be that naïve.

Blankfein isn’t offering advice — he’s offering an escape route.

Blankfein is thiscloser to exiting Goldman. He’s been there five years, and if CEO history is any indication, it’s time to do God’s work elsewhere — and he could find no better replacement than Dimon.

And Jamie would almost certainly rather be “just” CEO of Goldman than essentially be demoted to only CEO (relinquishing the chairman title) of JPMorgan, the company he helped build into the world’s best bank.

It’s probably the only job on the Street that would not seem like a demotion. And if that happens, he’d love to teach the radical political activists who are pushing this initiative a real lesson!

The JPMorgan shareholders meeting is Tuesday, and that’s when the votes will be tallied.

The board doesn’t technically have to accept the vote, since it is non-binding. But that’s a precarious option.

Blankfein and Dimon are two of the smartest, toughest and most sophisticated magnates around. They didn’t get where they are by accident or silver spoon. Lloyd knows if Jamie is under attack, he and Goldman Sachs could be next.

Dimon’s got a lot to offer Goldman, i.e., a clear, well-respected and proven successor. Blankfein can graduate to chairman, and Dimon can be CEO of a world-class firm — on his own terms.