'It's Nearly Embarrassing For Being an American Citizen' JP Morgan's Dimon

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The chief executive of JPMorgan Chase serves on the White House business advisory council and is chairman of the powerful Business Roundtable. But in calls Friday to discuss the big bank's quarterly profits, Dimon vented his frustration with gridlock in Washington.

 "It's almost embarrassing being an American citizen . . . and listening to the stupid s--- we have to deal with in this country," Dimon said in one conference call. The inability to make headway on significant legislation is "holding us back, and it is hurting the average American. It isn't a Republican issue; it is not a Democratic issue.

" Dimon has resisted calls from shareholders to step down from Trump's business council and fell short of criticizing the Republican on Friday. "We have become one of the most bureaucratic, confusing, litigious societies on the planet," he said. 

"And at one point we all have to get our act together, or we won't do what we're supposed to do for the average Americans." The usually affable Dimon leads the largest bank in the country with more than $2 trillion in assets and what Dimon has described as a "fortress" balance sheet.

 That has made Dimon one of Wall Street's most influential forces in Washington. Dimon's criticisms of the ways of Washington came as some of the largest banks in the country - JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup - reported larger-than-expected quarterly profits Friday. 

The banks said they had received a boost from a slight increase in interest rates. JPMorgan's second-quarter profits rose 13 percent to $7 billion, compared with the same period last year. Revenue rose about 5 percent to $26 billion. 

 Trump has promised to loosen regulations on the banking sector that he says became too strict after the 2008 financial crisis. That has raised hopes among big banks that they will have greater flexibility in how they use their money and gain relief from the yearly "stress tests" they must pass to prove they could survive another economic crisis. 

While the House has passed legislation encompassing many of the industry's wishes, the Senate has yet to take up the issue, and many banking executives now don't expect significant action until next year.

 Dimon noted that he had recently traveled to several countries, including France, Argentina and Israel, and met with the prime ministers of India and China. "It's amazing to me that every single one of those countries understands that practical policies that promote business and growth is good for the average citizens of those countries for jobs and wages," he said. "Business doing well is good for the citizens of the country."

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