JPMorgan CFO feels 'really good' about hitting the firm's ROTCE target

JPMorgan Chase & Co. CFO Jeremy Barnum said Friday the bank remains confident it'll achieve its target of 17% return on average tangible common shareholders' equity (ROTCE). "We feel really good about the 17%," Barnum said in comments at the 23rd Annual Credit Suisse Financial Services Forum. While some M&A deals have been pushed back into later in the year due to market volatility, CEO confidence remains strong, he said. Barnum said the bank is seeing a roughly 10% drop in its markets unit in the first quarter but it's less of a dip than he expected. Barnum reiterated plans by the bank to boost its spending by $3.5 billion in 2022 partly to address fintech competitors. "We do see an increasingly competitive environment with a lot of dynamism in the marketplace that makes us feel it's necessary to be aggressive," he said. But he cautioned that the bank is purposeful about its spending. "We have no interest in rushing to solve problems by throwing tons of people at it in a disorganized way," he said. Shares of JPMorgan rose 0.6% in premarket trades.

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