JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon praised Texas this week for creating a business-friendly environment, but warned the state risks tarnishing that reputation with laws aimed at punishing major financial firms over how they choose to operate.
"Texas is a wonderful, welcoming place," Dimon told Bloomberg in an interview Wednesday. "The government's done a magnificent job and that's why you have the growth, why unemployment is so low, why people are moving companies and jobs here."
He added, "I think it's a mistake to damage it even a little way."
Texas enacted a pair of state laws in 2021 restricting public contracts with any financial institutions that "boycott" energy companies or "discriminate" against the firearm industry.
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"We don't discriminate or boycott anybody, neither for political affiliation nor for anything else," Dimon said in the interview. "We do make risk, legal, credit and reputational decisions, which is our legal right – and my obligation as chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase."
Last month, Texas Attorney Ken Paxton's office launched a review into the corporate policies of several major Wall Street firms including JPMorgan, Bank of America and Wells Fargo to determine whether the institutions violated the energy law due to their membership in the Net Zero Alliance.
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But the investigations into major firms is disrupting the municipal bond market in Texas, which localities use to build infrastructure, according to Bloomberg.
"Some things they have to be very careful about is that their own cities, schools, hospitals all get funding from someone like us and you want that to continue," said Dimon, who heads the largest bank in the U.S. "So if you can't do that, it may hurt the ability to raise money in the proper kind of way."
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"Texas has been an unbelievable place to do business, and they've been welcoming of small businesses and large business. The governor's done an exceptional job. The cities have done a good job with infrastructure, education, taxes, all those things. And it's booming," Dimon reiterated to the outlet. "So I urge them to be very careful to stay the welcoming place."
Shares of JPMorgan have gained over 5% this year, trailing the S&P 500's 12.5% rise.
