CEOs of the three largest banks confirmed that they would be willing to exit the Chinese market should Washington issue such instructions in the event of an attack on Taiwan, in line with its actions during the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The Financial Services Committee of the US House of Representatives held a hearing on Wednesday that included Citi CEO Jane Fraser, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, and Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan. Topics covered include inflation, fossil fuel financing, and social issues, among others.
Of interest to Asia, whose investors routinely cite geopolitics as their top concern, was questioning from Congress members about the banks' response to Washington’s instructions in the event of a military attack on Taiwan by Beijing, which has repeatedly said it would reunify the self-ruled island by any means necessary.
China Exit Possible
One of the key questions was from Missouri’s Republic congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer, who asked if the banks were prepared to pull their investments out of China in the event of a military assault on Taiwan. In response, all three banks said they would comply with Washington’s guidance.
«We’ll follow the government’s guidance, which has been for decades to work with China. If they change their position, we will immediately change it, just as we did in Russia,» Moynihan said, according to a «Financial Times» report citing the hearing.
«We would absolutely salute and follow whatever the American government said, which is you all, what you want us to do,» Dimon added.
No Comment
Despite vowing loyalty to Washington, Wall Street’s top banking chiefs remained neutral when specifically commenting about China and Taiwan.
«‘Condemn’ is a very strong word,» Fraser said on calling on out China for alleged human rights violations though she said the bank was «distressed» to see such events occur anywhere in the world in general.
«I believe in free democracy everywhere. I’m not going to specifically comment on Taiwan. That’s up to the US government to make statements like that,» Dimon said.
Politics aside, Moynihan also highlighted concerns about the competitiveness of Chinese banks, adding that «they could acquire any of us without much problem».
