Jamie Dimon Draws the Line on Junior Bankers and Private Equity Poaching
Let’s talk about something shaking up Wall Street this week: Jamie Dimon is making headlines again — this time for cracking down hard on private equity firms poaching JPMorgan’s junior bankers. And when I say “hard,” I mean there’s zero ambiguity left in the bank’s stance.
JPMorgan just issued a serious memo to its incoming investment banking analysts, and the message is crystal clear: if you’re caught accepting a “future-dated” job offer from a private equity firm — meaning one that starts a year or two down the road — you're done. Terminated. Out. This policy shift isn’t subtle, and it’s no bluff either. It's a follow-through on Dimon’s long-standing frustration with what's been dubbed “on-cycle recruiting” — an industry-wide ritual where PE firms aggressively lock in junior talent early, often before those new bankers have even finished their first year.
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Dimon has never been shy about criticizing this practice. Last year, while speaking at Georgetown, he called it “unethical” and made it clear he might shut it down entirely at JPMorgan. Fast forward to today, and he’s doing exactly that. The memo — penned by the co-heads of global banking, John Simmons and Filippo Gori — goes so far as to warn against missing any part of training to attend interviews. Miss even one session, and your position is at risk.
Why such a strong stance? It’s about loyalty, focus, and the integrity of the firm’s pipeline. From JPMorgan’s perspective, it’s a major conflict of interest to have young bankers advising private equity clients they secretly plan to work for later. It disrupts training, compromises deals, and undercuts the bank’s investment in talent development.
Interestingly, JPMorgan is also sweetening the deal to keep top talent in-house. The analyst program is being shortened from three years to two and a half, giving high performers a faster path to advancement. The bank knows competition for top talent is fierce, especially with mega-funds scooping up analysts within months of them hitting the desk.
But despite the bold move, not everyone’s convinced it’ll work. Some insiders believe junior bankers will still take those PE offers — they’ll just keep it quieter. One private equity pro who used to be a junior banker themselves put it bluntly: “They’ll recruit regardless. They’ll just shut their mouths about it.”
This move by Dimon could ripple across the industry. If other major banks follow suit, we could see a serious shift in how early-career finance recruiting is done. But for now, JPMorgan is laying down the law. For new analysts joining the bank this year, the message is loud and clear: you’re either in or you’re out — no moonlighting allowed.
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