At the 30th Annual JPMorgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, Chairman & CEO Jamie Dimon outlined his views on the economy, Europe and banking stress tests for 2012 in a CNBC Exclusive with Maria Bartiromo.
"The U.S. economy is experiencing a mild recovery," Dimon said. "We think housing is at or near a bottom."
On the corporate front, Dimon said companies have a lot of money right now. "Companies are doing okay and want to grow and expand," he said. "But they are worried about the world."
When asked about Europe, Dimon told Bartiromo "Europe has a lot of issues to work out." "The longer you wait the higher the risk for something you can’t control."
Dimon on Stress Tests
Bartiromo asked Dimon about stress tests. He responded, saying "I agree with stress tests." "We can handle all that," Dimon said. "I’m hoping its shows that American banks are well capitalized" Dimon said. "At one point we’ll have too much capital."
Dimon on Hiring
Looking back, JPMorgan hired 16,000 people in the U.S. in 2011, expanding its total workforce to more than 260,000. Compare that to the industry as a whole where more than 200,000 job cuts were announced on top of protests against Wall Street firms spread worldwide. The New York-based lender is also adding about 175 branches a year in the U.S.
Dimon on Healthcare
Beyond financials, Dimon is also focused on health care. The bank’s premiere event is the first and biggest healthcare investing event of the year with almost 400 companies presenting to more than 9,000 attendees.
Donna Burton contributed to this article.
Questions? Comments? Write toinvestoragenda@cnbc.com