Ten years after one of the most famous falling-outs ever on Wall Street, Citigroup titan Sandy Weill is bowing to Jamie Dimon’s performance during the credit crisis.
“I’m proud of Jamie,” Mr. Weill told Crain’s in an interview with Crain's New York Business.
“What we always talked about is run your business lean and conservative in good times, so you have the ability to do really interesting things in bad times.”
Mr. Weill struck a fatherly note in his comments about Mr. Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase & Co., and his acquisition of the beleaguered Bear Stearns.
Mr. Dimon had been at Mr. Weill’s side since 1982, helping him cobble Citigroup together through a series of unprecedented mergers in the 1990s. But their partnership fell apart over business and personal issues. Among them: Mr. Dimon passed over Mr. Weill’s daughter, Jessica, for a promotion. Mr. Dimon was effectively fired.
In the interview, which primarily focused on his education philanthropy, Mr. Weill defended his vision for Citigroup, which he created through a series of big acquisitions before retiring.
He noted that the regulatory framework created when he merged an insurance company and a banking firm has helped stabilize the financial services industry. He said Citigroup’s size was a help, not a hindrance.
“Citigroup was able to raise $34 billion when these problems started,” he said.
“That’s more equity than 95% of the companies in the world have.”
Citigroup has not fared nearly as well during the credit crisis as J.P. Morgan. Since Mr. Weill left the company in 2003, many people have raised questions about whether, without him as the visionary leader, the company should survive in its super-sized form.
The pressure for the company to sell off some assets, such as Smith Barney, has grown even more intense since the onset of the credit crisis.
Though the company halved its losses to $5 billion in the first quarter – considered a good sign by analysts – it may end up needing the cash.
