On occasion, this columnist has spotlighted instances — usually toward the end of the year — when executives drop their usual filter and say something remarkably frank. Jamie Dimon comes to mind. When asked in December 2020 which segment of JPMorgan Chase’s business would benefit from an acquisition, the outspoken CEO said, “Asset management, my line is open.”
“If you’ve got brilliant ideas, give me a call. And if you’re a competitor investment bank and you bring the idea, you get the fee.”
These off-the-cuff musings aren’t always saved for the holiday season. Occasionally, they come during earnings week. Morgan Stanley Executive Chair James Gorman, knowing he would move on from the CEO role within a year, remarked during an earnings call last July on his bank’s wealth management unit exceeding quarterly expectations by 50% — in turn, spurring the company’s share price to jump 6.5% on the day. “Isn’t this the moment where you drop the mic?” he said.
Earnings week, by nature, is typically buttoned up. But from time to time, buttons are unfastened. Ties are loosened. The jacket might even come off. Here are seven comments from the past week or so and, by degrees of boldness or swagger, the styles of dress they reflected:
1. Bharat Masrani, TD CEO: Coat on, shirt’s top button fastened, tie straight
“I understand that you want to know more. However, given the confidential nature of regulatory discussions, I cannot provide additional detail or speculate on timing or announcements,” Masrani said Thursday.
The CEO was referring to the investigations surrounding TD’s anti-money laundering compliance, rumored to be to blame for the collapse of the bank’s proposed acquisition of First Horizon. He’s clearly answered this question before. Last month, for example, Masrani said, “We know what the AML issue is, and we’re making progress in fixing it every day,” without detailing the said issue.
2. Jim Ryan, Old National CEO: Coat on, shirt’s top button fastened, loosening tie slightly
Without a doubt, Ryan is in the most unenviable spot of any of the commenters on this list. Old National put its CFO, Brendon Falconer, on leave this month after Falconer was charged with two felonies related to child molestation.
“We already have an exceptionally talented finance, accounting and treasury team in place,” Ryan said Tuesday during the bank’s quarterly earnings call, according to American Banker. “Mike Lloyd, our treasurer, and Angela Putnam, our chief accounting officer … each has 10 years-plus experience with us. John Moran, you already know from his tenure with us and as a Wall Street analyst covering banks like Old National, has seamlessly taken on the interim chief financial officer role.”
Ryan’s comments clearly show a pivot from the prospect of providing answers about Falconer. Ryan said the bank would “not comment” on the allegations against the CFO, whose court hearing is Monday. Old National is “focused on running our business as usual, Ryan added.
Old National’s CEO is following the same template as Masrani, who, after affirming he wouldn’t talk at length about TD’s AML situation, spotlighted the bank’s talent and process. “We have onboarded globally recognized talent and leadership, and invested in technology, process design, training and other activities,” Masrani said last week.
Ryan, meanwhile, said his bank “will provide any updates in the future when appropriate.”
“I have complete confidence in John and the entire team," he added.
3. Ted Pick, Morgan Stanley CEO: Coat on, shirt’s top button undone, tie loosened
James Gorman is not the only Morgan Stanley executive who can show flashes of frankness. Before Pick’s ascent to the CEO role, a number of profiles noted his romance with foul language, so his appearance on this list should not be a surprise.
In response to questions surrounding reports that several regulators are investigating Morgan Stanley’s due diligence in vetting wealth management clients, Pick said, “We’ve been on it.”
“This is not a new matter. We’ve been focused on our client onboarding and monitoring processes for a good while,” he said last week during the bank’s earnings call, according to Bloomberg. “We have ongoing communications with our regulators, as all the large banks do.
“This is about processes,” Pick continued. “We have been spending time, effort and money for multiple years, and it is ongoing. … And the costs associated with this are largely in the expense run rate.”
Pick even got an assist from another member of Morgan Stanley’s C-suite, CFO Sharon Yeshaya.
“There are no changes in our ability to do business, and we're extremely confident in our ability to grow,” Yeshaya said, according to American Banker.
4. Brian Moynihan, Bank of America CEO: Coat on, shirt’s top button undone, takes tie off immediately afterward
“We managed headcount,” he said during last week’s earnings call, according to Reuters.
This entry rings with particular swag. A year ago, the bank cut 1,000 employees in just over two weeks but maintained that attrition, not layoffs, explained the numbers. The decrease in headcount between 2023’s fourth quarter and 2024’s first, by comparison, was not as severe: 650 over three months. Bank of America again attributed the reduction to attrition.
“We noted the expectation in January of last year that our headcount will be down throughout the year,” Moynihan added.
Some of the swag may reflect that Moynihan can expect less ardent pressure from analysts to explain decreases in headcount when one of the bank’s stiffest competitors, Citi, and its nearest Charlotte neighbor, Truist, are both cutting workforce more fervently.
5. Colm Kelleher, UBS chair: Coat on, shirt’s top button undone, no tie
“Let me be clear: we are seriously concerned about some of the discussions related to additional capital requirements,” Kelleher said Wednesday at UBS’s annual general meeting, according to the Financial Times. “Additional capital is the wrong remedy.”
Kelleher’s comments come two weeks after the Swiss government outlined 22 measures to strengthen the regulatory framework for banks deemed “too big to fail.”
“UBS is not too big to fail,” Kelleher said, according to CNBC. “UBS is one of the best capitalized banks in Europe, with a sustainable business model and a corresponding low-risk balance sheet.”
Kelleher said effective loss-absorbing capacity for global systemically important banks is now 20 times stronger than it was during the 2007-08 financial crisis.
“It is imperative that our regulatory policies ensure a level playing field. In other words, Switzerland’s regulation must remain broadly aligned with global standards,” Kelleher said, according to Bloomberg.
He became more pointed in reference to the bank the Swiss government pressured UBS to buy last year.
“It was not too low capital requirements that forced Credit Suisse into the historic weekend rescue,” Kelleher said. “Our ability to acquire Credit Suisse underscores that the regulatory framework was not the problem.”
There “can be no regulatory solution for a broken business model,” he said.
6. Rohit Chopra, CFPB director: Shirt’s top button undone, no tie, taking coat off
Chopra, asked Wednesday by the Financial Times for his thoughts on the proposed acquisition of Discover by Capital One, declined to comment “specifically” on that transaction. But in reference to the combination of two “large issuers ... that compete in a number” of credit card sub-markets, he said, “That’s going to require some very, very close analysis.”
Chopra’s agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, does not have the power to block the deal. But Chopra blasted at least one argument Capital One made in application documents submitted to the Federal Reserve.
The bank said the credit-card market dominated by Visa and Mastercard “sorely need[s] an injection of competitive rivalry.”
Chopra on Wednesday called that line of thinking an “unpersuasive talking point.”
“I think we always need to assess that claim very skeptically,” he said.
7. Glenn Hegar, comptroller, state of Texas: No coat, no tie, shirt’s top button undone
"I know that everybody wants me to address [the question], ‘Where is Texas going with all these lists?’” Hegar said last week at a public finance conference in Austin, according to Bloomberg. “I’ve got other stuff to do, people.”
While assuring attendees last week that he wants banks to “engage in” and “be involved in Texas,” the state’s list of financial institutions restricted from state contracts over policies Hegar perceives to “boycott” fossil fuels continues to grow.
