Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, suggested on Wednesday that the bank may spend up to $20 billion on an acquisition within the next few years.

“I do think there might be, in the next couple years, a chance to put $10 or $20 billion to work buying something,” Dimon said at an industry conference, as reported by the FT. “And when we do that, we’ll explain to you why we think it’s a great purchase.”

CNBC separately reported that Dimon was critical of firms that resort to mergers and acquisitions when their organic growth is low, adding that JPMorgan was not rushing into any deals.

In April, Jeremy Barnum, chief financial officer at JPMorgan, said that changes in banking regulations under the Trump administration would force the bank to hold an additional $20 billion in capital.

In his remarks to industry peers, Dimon explained that JPMorgan will retain $40-50 billion above what regulators require, with banking fees up 10 per cent and trading up 11 per cent year-on-year.

Dimon described himself as ‘gung-ho’, adding: “M&A is like the best year we’ve had in I’ve forgotten how many years. [Equity Capital Markets] is going to be huge this year.” He added there was “a lot of exuberance out there”.

JPMorgan’s largest acquisition under Dimon was the government-assisted purchase of most First Republic Bank’s assets and client contacts in 2023. That sale, which followed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) seizing First Republic’s assets, cost JPMorgan $10.6 billion.

Dimon did not specify whether JPMorgan would look to purchase a FinTech or other finance-adjacent institution. The bank is prohibited from acquiring another domestic deposit-taking bank as this would result in the firm holding more than ten percent of insured US deposits.

Last week, Dimon made headlines for his prediction that artificial intelligence will eventually reduce headcounts in banking, adding that as the technology evolves JPMorgan will “be hiring more AI people and fewer bankers in certain categories”.

His remarks followed comments by Bill Winters, chief executive of Standard Chartered, who said the firm’s plans to cut 7,800 roles by 2030 as it automates more of its operations were about replacing “lower-value human capital”.

Winters has since apologised for his comments.

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