JPMorgan CEO offloads $150 million of his shares for the first time in history; But why?

Jamie Dimon, the long-serving CEO of JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), has offloaded a significant amount of his shares in the banking giant for the first time in history during his 18-year-old tenure.

According to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on February 22, Dimon offloaded approximately 822,000 shares, equivalent to approximately $150 million, in this historic sale.

JUST IN : JP MORGAN CEO JAMIE DIMOM JUST SOLD $150 MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF HIS JP MORGAN SHARES

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY HE HAS SOLD ANY OF HIS JP MORGAN SHARES$JPM pic.twitter.com/R99fneKZHg

— GURGAVIN (@gurgavin) February 23, 2024

Despite this significant divestment, he still retains approximately 7.7 million shares in the company. It is worth noting that the decision to sell the shares appears to be part of a larger plan adopted by Dimon and his family.

Motivation behind shares sale

Notably, according to a filing in October 2023, Dimon and his family revealed plans to sell 1 million shares for “financial diversification and tax-planning purposes.” The same filing suggested that additional sales might be on the horizon. In this case, the sale does not seem related to the banking giant’s leadership succession plans.

Interestingly, other JPMorgan insiders also opted to sell shares on the same day. For instance, Troy Rohrbaugh, the co-CEO of JPMorgan’s commercial and investment bank, divested $13.7 million worth of shares, while the bank’s general counsel Stacey Friedman and Chief Information Officer Lori Beer sold $1.1 million and $716,000 worth of stock, respectively.

Since Dimon assumed the position of CEO, JPMorgan Chase has experienced remarkable growth, with the bank reporting a 35% increase in profits in the most recent quarter. At the same time, it recorded the largest-ever annual profit for any US bank in 2023, reaching a staggering $49.6 billion.

Rewarding Dimon

In response to the impressive financial performance, the bank’s board rewarded Dimon with a 4% pay increase, bringing his total compensation to $36 million, including base pay and performance-based share units, as reported by Business Insider.

In the meantime, the bank has also accelerated its expansion plans with notable acquisitions, such as taking over failed regional lender First Republic Bank in May.

As JPMorgan continues to enjoy a robust business momentum, Dimon has warned about the repercussions of the current environment in the past. As reported by Finbold back in October, Dimon warned that we’re living in ‘the most dangerous times,’ citing factors such as the ongoing geopolitical tension.

At the same time, the lender has also incurred significant fines for various violations. As per a Finbold report, JPMorgan has been fined nearly $40 billion for two-decade legal oversights

In the meantime, JPM has recorded steady growth in recent months, rallying by over 30% in the past year to trade at $183.99 by press time.

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