Eurozone Integrity At Risk With Brexit, JPMorgan’s Dimon Says

Concerns about European economies have been surging ever since U.K. voters cast a historic vote to exit the European Union. And while it remains to be seen just how big the impact will be, JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon warned Monday (Aug. 1) that eurozone integrity is at risk if the U.K. actually leaves the European Union.

In an interview with CNBC, Dimon said a breakdown of the eurozone currency bloc is something JPMorgan is looking at as it operates in Europe, with Dimon saying a decline in the integrity of the eurozone “unfortunately could be one of the fat tail outcomes of a Brexit.”

He went on to note that it could take longer than five years to unfold, but it is a distinct possibility, he stated. Dimon noted JPMorgan has to be prepared for whatever happens and that if laws change as a result of the Brexit vote it will have to do things differently than it does now. Dimon said the U.K. leaving the European Union could result in duplicate costs to provide banking and financial services to customers in Europe.

Uncertainty abounds about just what impact the vote will have on the U.K., with early indications coming last month when Britain saw a sharp decline in sales in June. While U.K. press blamed the decline on rainy weather during June rather than the vote to exit the European Union, it was an early indication of what couple come. Sales fell around 0.9 percent between May and June. The sales data only included a week after the vote.

Clothing and footwear sales took the biggest hit in June, with sales down close to 2 percent compared with May. Ever since the Brexit vote JPMorgan’s Dimon has been warning that the financial firm may have to relocate some of the 16,000 jobs it has in the U.K. to other parts of Europe.