(Yahoo!Finance) - JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon plans to sell 1 million shares of company stock currently valued at roughly $141 million, his first such sale since taking over as boss in 2005.
The CEO and his family intend to do so starting in 2024, according to a regulatory filing from JPMorgan Friday that described the sale as being "for financial diversification and tax-planning purposes."
A JPMorgan spokesman said Friday that the disclosure does not relate to any near-term succession planning. Dimon, 67 years old, is currently the longest-serving CEO of a major national bank. JPMorgan is the largest lender by assets in the US.
"Mr. Dimon continues to believe the company’s prospects are very strong and his stake in the company will remain very significant," JPMorgan said in the filing.
JPMorgan stock fell 3.6% Friday. Since the beginning of the year, it has outperformed its peers.
The planned stock sale announced by the bank Friday represents roughly 12% of the holdings belonging to the CEO and his family, excluding uninvested shares and stock appreciation rights. Dimon and his family currently own roughly 8.6 million shares of stock worth approximately $1.2 billion as of Thursday’s closing price.
Dimon also holds uninvested share units related to 561,793 shares and other stock appreciation rights for 1.5 million shares that are subject to performance targets.
The board awarded Dimon the 1.5 million options in 2021 as a special retention bonus. He can't exercise those options until 2026, and he has to stay at the bank the entire time while meeting certain performance targets.
But the retention plan does have one interesting provision that allows Dimon to exit earlier: He can exercise the options if he leaves for a government job, according to a regulatory filing. Elected or unelected.
Dimon has frequently been linked over the years to top roles in Washington. During President Obama’s time in office, Dimon was frequently mentioned as a possible Treasury secretary. Billionaire Warren Buffett even offered his endorsement in 2012, saying Dimon would be the best pick for that job.
"I can’t do this forever, I know that," Dimon told analysts on May 22. "But my intensity is the same. I think when I don't have that kind of intensity, I should leave."
The company released a statement in June saying Dimon had "no plans to run for office" and that "he is very happy in his current role."
The statement came after the CEO admitted in an interview with Bloomberg that the thought of running for public office had crossed his mind. Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman later that same day on Twitter urged the executive to run for president.
He would still, however, like to "serve our country in some way" after JPMorgan, a person familiar with his thinking said in June.
A JPMorgan spokesperson said the Friday disclosure of a stock sale "has nothing to do" with any plans for a potential appointment to public office.
The bank does have a list of internal candidates who could replace him depending on the circumstances and notice of any potential departure.
By David Hollerith · Senior Reporter
