JPMorgan Chase & Co., the largest U.S. bank by assets, needs to be ready for Greece to depart from the euro currency union, Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said.
“We must be prepared for a potential exit,” Dimon said Wednesday in a letter to shareholders of his New York-based bank. “We continually stress test our company for possible repercussions resulting from such an event.”
Greece is negotiating a package of measures to repair the nation’s economy, a condition for the release of more bailout funds from euro-area countries and the International Monetary Fund. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has repeatedly said that she wants Greece to stay in the currency union and, along with French President Francois Hollande, last week expressed concern that time is running short.
Dimon highlighted what he said could be the eventual positive side of a Greek departure, following a period of “initial turmoil.”
It is possible that an exit would “prompt greater structural reform efforts by countries that remain,” he wrote.
