Unexpected news arose from banking giant JPMorgan (JPM) today, as it revealed a concern about junior bankers and their overall workload. As a reflection of the importance it’s placing on this concern, the company has established a new global role that focuses junior bankers and management of their workloads. Investors weren’t necessarily cheering the news, and shares of JPMorgan were down fractionally in Wednesday afternoon’s trading.
JPMorgan named Ryland McClendon to the new role, declaring him “Global Investment Banking Associate and Analyst Leader.” He would be tasked with managing associates and analysts, two of the lowest overall levels in JPMorgan’s entire hierarchy, reports noted.
The creation of this role follows an incident in May, when Bank of America (BAC) found that an associate died while working at the bank’s offices. A Reuters report noted the associate in question, Leo Lukenas III, was a 2010 graduate of Sonma State University in California, who then joined the Green Berets and eventually ended up at Bank of America in 2023. Lukenas died of “acute coronary artery thrombosis” after reportedly working 100-hour weeks regarding a bank merger.
“It’s a Minor Thing”
Meanwhile, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon recently weighed in on the expected Federal Reserve rate cut, saying, “It’s a minor thing.” With many looking for a quarter-point rate cut, it is easy to regard it as little more than a pre-election sop to a voter base that was looking for the comeback of cheap money.
Yet even if the unlikely happens and the Fed goes for a half-point cut instead, Dimon might still shrug, as evidenced by his recent remark. However, Dimon did mention that he supports a planned rate cut, noting that “…they need to do it.” Dimon has been front and center, warning that a potential stagflationary environment could be in the making. A portmanteau of “stagnation” and “inflation,” a stagflationary environment is one where growth slows but inflation is either climbing or is already high, and stays there.
Is JPMorgan a Good Stock to Buy Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on JPM stock based on 15 Buys and five Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 43.44% rally in its share price over the past year, the average JPM price target of $223.76 per share implies 7.44% upside potential.
