For Immediate Release
Friday, May 11, 2012
AFSCME Plan’s McEntee to JP Morgan Chase: “Don’t Hedge on Independent Board Chair; the Stakes Are Too High to Leave Jamie Dimon Unsupervised”
Statement of AFSCME Plan Trustee Gerald W. McEntee on JP Morgan Chase’s $2 billion loss
Washington, DC —“Wall Street greed and conflicts of interest drove our economy into a ditch. JP Morgan Chase shareholders need to act together and tell the board that we want meaningful controls over risk and real oversight of management. We need an independent chairman of the board. The stakes are too high to leave Jamie Dimon unsupervised. Dimon denied that the ‘London Whale’ was making risky bets, and now that this has turned out to be a fish story, shareholders need to step in.”
JP Morgan Chase (JPM) shareholders will vote next Tuesday May 15 at the company’s annual meeting on a shareholder proposal submitted by the AFSCME Employees Pension Plan (“the AFSCME Plan”) calling on JPM to adopt an independent board chair who will provide improved oversight and risk management.
The AFSCME Plan views the proposal as an important way to protect and enhance the economic value of its long-term investment in JPM because an independent board chair will refocus the company on better managing its economic risks, which will in turn protect and improve the value of its shares.
