Jamie Dimon says JPMorgan may reconsider its London office if Starmer is fired

JP Morgan Chase The bank may reconsider plans for a multibillion-dollar office tower in London if British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is removed from office, Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said on Wednesday.

The head of the largest U.S. bank by assets told Bloomberg in an interview in Paris that the change in leadership won’t change JPMorgan’s fundamental strategy, but it could force the bank to rethink its future in the British capital.

JPMorgan announced late last year that it would build a new 3 million square foot tower in London’s Canary Wharf financial district, housing up to 12,000 employees and serving as its UK headquarters. Construction is expected to take six years, during which time JPMorgan will also renovate an existing building on London’s Bank Street.

At the time of the announcement, JPMorgan said its plans for the new building were “subject to the continued favorable business environment in the UK and the receipt of the necessary approvals and agreements at national and local level”.

Asked on Tuesday whether the political instability plaguing Britain had changed his view of London’s megaproject, Dimon said if the new government was “hostile to the banks, then yes.”

Dimon told Bloomberg that JPMorgan has already paid $10 billion in “additional taxes” related to construction projects, criticizing the tax burden the bank already faces in the UK.

JP Morgan currently employs more than 20,000 people in the UK, 13,000 of whom are based in London. The bank announced in November that construction and office refurbishment projects will contribute an estimated £9.9 billion ($13.4 billion) to the UK economy over the next six years and create more than 7,800 jobs. Existing operations in London are estimated to contribute £7.5 billion a year to the local economy.

Mr Starmer’s leadership is in flux after his party’s poor performance in last week’s local elections led to widespread calls from MPs for him to resign. As of Tuesday morning, 90 MPs from the ruling Labor Party had called for the prime minister to resign, and more than 100 had signed a statement supporting Starmer’s retention.

Opinion polls last week showed the right-wing British Reform Party and the left-wing Green Party gaining significant support following a backlash against Starmer’s Labor Party.

But bond vigilantes, largely backing Mr Starmer and his Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, are holding their own against potential alternatives as traditional British bonds (known as gilts) are sold off amid uncertainty over their political future.

On Tuesday, gold sold across the curve amid political turmoil. By Wednesday morning, shares were rising as investors reacted to Starmer’s resistance to calls for his resignation.

Mr Dimon supported Mr Starmer and Mr Reeves in an interview on Tuesday.

“I think Keir Starmer is a very smart man,” he told Bloomberg. “Politics is very tough. We’re stymied by debt and deficits. They inherited a lot of that. I think it’s a Rachel Reeves world. Politics has to be tough. You have to say, ‘We’re going to do something that might not be good in the short term,’ but the government has to do the right things to grow the economy.”

He also praised Mr Starmer’s approach to repairing strained relations with the European Union following Brexit.

“I think they need to work more closely with Europe. If you remember, Keir Starmer and[Emmanuel]the French president said they were going to work more closely together,” he said. “Rather than withdrawing from Brexit, we need to forge military and intelligence alliances to ensure we have an economic relationship that is good for the continent and for the UK.”

Mr Starmer is due to meet Health Secretary Wes Streeting on Wednesday morning ahead of King Charles III’s address to Parliament outlining the government’s agenda. At Tuesday’s regular cabinet meeting, the prime minister said he would see his five-year mission through to completion.

Absent Starmer’s resignation, a challenge to the Labor leadership – which would determine Starmer’s fate as party leader – could only be triggered if 20% of Labor MPs support a challenger. This currently means 81 Labor MPs will need to support a replacement candidate.