‘Son of a B****’: JPMorgan CEO sparks row over expletive-laden remarks on Indian-origin ex-CFPB chief Rohit Chopra

JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jamie Dimon has come into the limelight after throwing expletives at Rohit Chopra, the Indian-origin director of the US consumer watchdog Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

Dimon’s alleged leaked audio from his recent town hall with employees has gone viral, where he can be heard putting forth some strong remarks against the company’s work from home policies and other issues.

Talking about the CFPB, which was previously shut down by Donald Trump, Dimon said that the agency had done some good work. However, he had nothing good to say about Rohit Chopra, who served as its director.

“The only good thing I'll say about the CFPB is there are consumer protective rules that are good. They should be put in place to protect consumers,” the JPMorgan Chase CEO was heard saying in the audio during his controversial town hall in Columbus, Ohio.

However, Jamie Dimon was critical of Rohit Chopra.

“They massively overstepped their authority. I think this guy — Chopra or whatever his name is — was just an arrogant, out-of-touch son of a b***h who just made things worse for a lot of Americans,” he allegedly said.

He further noted that similar work to CFPB was already being done by other agencies, making the now-shut watchdog redundant to him.

“So if they get rid of it or not, it makes no difference to me. It should exist, but it should be inside the OCC like it used to be when it comes to banks,” Dimon said.

JPMorgan Chase fires employee, brings him back later

Jamie Dimon’s stance on work from office, which he talked about at the same town hall, has also gone viral.

During a conversation with a senior employee, he made it clear that there was no opportunity for remote work at JPMorgan Chase, and workers were expected to return to the office five days a week, no matter what.

Dimon said this in the context of employee Nicolas Welch asking him to provide an opportunity to leave decisions like working from the office at the hands of individual managers.

His suggestion was met with applause from other employees but drew Dimon’s ire.

“That’s it? I’m going to give you a complete answer. There is no chance that I would leave that up to managers. Zero chance. The abuse that took place was extraordinary,” Dimon was quoted as saying by Forbes, who accessed the leaked audio.

Welch’s day became worse as he received a message from Garrett Monaghan, a Vice President - Branch HelpDesk. After a meeting with Monaghan and Jeffrey Todd Merrill, Vice President – Global Dedicated IT Support, Welch was fired with immediate effect.

Then, at 4.30 pm, Megan Mead, executive director and director of global IT support (TESS), explained that things were now settled and Welch was still employed with JPMorgan Chase.

A company spokesperson, however, said that Welch was never fired.