Jamie Dimon warns panic will overtake markets as U.S. approaches debt default

JPMorgan, the biggest U.S. bank with about $3.7 trillion in assets, has been preparing for the risk of an American default, Dimon said.

Such an event would ripple through the financial world, impacting “contracts, collateral, clearing houses, and affect clients definitely around the world,” he said.

The bank’s so-called war room has been gathering once weekly, a rate that will shift to daily meetings around May 21 and then three meetings daily after that, he said.

He exhorted politicians from both major U.S. parties to compromise and avoid a ruinous outcome.

“Please negotiate a deal,” Dimon said.

In the wide-ranging interview, Dimon said he speaks daily to regional bank executives amid concerns sparked by the Silicon Valley Bank collapse in March. Last week, JPMorgan emerged as the winner in the government-brokered auction for First Republic.

Regional banks are “quite strong” and will have good financial results, but managers are worried because of the bank runs that have taken down three firms, he said.

“I think we have to assume there’ll be a little bit more” to the regional banking crisis, he said.