Jamie Dimon defends JPMorgan Chase's $ 16.50 minimum wage claiming it was not an "arms race"

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, on Friday defended the bank's $ 16.50 minimum wage, saying the arms race would not continue with competition to raise base pay.

"We take very good care of our entry-level positions: from $ 35,000 to $ 37,000 a year, for medical reasons, from retirement," Dimon said during a conference call with reporters to discuss bank profits for the first quarter.

This comes after Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) Faces Dimon at a hearing in the House this week. Porter asked how a mother with a child could survive with this salary after calculating the cost of childcare and other expenses. Such a full-time employee would end each month over $ 500 "in the red," she said.

"How should she handle this budget deficit while she works full time in your bank?" Porter asked.

"I do not know, I would have to think about that," Dimon replied at the time.

At a teleconference Friday, Dimon said the question was fair but pointed out that the starting salary of $ 16.50 from the hour, which passes to $ 18 an hour in some high-cost areas, involves entry-level positions usually occupied by schools. The bank also offers good medical insurance and pension plans, he said.

"In terms of wages, it's better for you to look at other areas, not just banks," he said.

Giant companies are under increasing pressure to raise their minimum wage, a push that is expected to intensify during the 2020 presidential campaign. Just this week, Amazon's chief executive Jeff Bezos , called on retailers to meet or exceed Amazon's commitment to raise wages to at least $ 15 an hour; and Bank of America said it would increase its minimum wage to $ 20 an hour by 2021, garnering praise from some lawmakers. (Bezos owns the Washington Post.)

When asked whether JPMorgan Chase would match Bank of America's minimum wage increase, Dimon said, "This is not an arms race."

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JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the country, announced Friday that its first quarter results were higher than Wall Street expectations. Profits and revenues increased 5% to $ 9.2 billion and $ 29.9 billion respectively over the same period last year.

Wells Fargo also announced solid quarterly results on Friday. The first quarter profit of the San Francisco bank rose 16% to $ 5.9 billion, compared to $ 5.1 billion for the same period in 2018. Turnover is slightly lower at 21, $ 6 billion, up from $ 21.9 billion in the first quarter of last year.

The growing profits of Wells Fargo have been achieved even as he has struggled for nearly three years to convince regulators that he has changed since the admission of millions of accounts that customers have neither requested nor requested. Three of the bank's largest regulators – the Federal Reserve, the Office of Consumer Financial Protection and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency – said in letters released by Democratic Senators this week that they were still unhappy with Wells Fargo progress.

"I am not satisfied with the progress made by the Bank so far and have asked staff to take all appropriate measures to ensure that the Bank complies with the Consent Order and the Federal Finance Law. consumers, "said Kathy Kraninger, director of the CFPB in a letter to Democratic senators, Massachusetts and Sherrod Brown of Ohio.

Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan resigned last month and the bank's board is looking for an external candidate to fill the position.

The research is still in its infancy and it is unclear when the Wells Fargo Board of Directors will make a decision, said Acting CEO C. Allen Parker. "We will redouble efforts to satisfy the regulators," Parker said during a conference call with analysts Friday. "We want to meet their expectations and exceed them."