J.P. Morgan (NYSE: JPM) Installs Steve Black as Vice Chairman of Company

After successfully helping the transition of his successor Jes Staley while he moved into the role of executive chairman of the investment bank, J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) announced it has now named Steve Black as vice chairman of the financial institution, where he will take on a more global role with the company in the midst of the economic and regulatory changes facing all banks.

Staley will now have the sole role of being chief executive of the investment bank and will report directly to J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon.

The pressure will remain on Staley to keep going strong in the unit, as the investment bank just finished having a record year for the company, generating close to $28.1 billion in revenue for the year. Contrast that to the paltry $12.3 billion they garnered in 2008 and you see the pressure Staley has on him to perform. It’s probably a little unfair, but that’s the nature of business, and he didn’t have to accept the challenge if he didn’t want to.

Coming in after a record year is in many cases the worst time to make a career move, especially now that trading is under populist political pressure, as well as looking like it’ll be hard to perform like last year because countries like China are tightening up their lending which could result in far less commodities being bought and less demand for other investment products as well. That combination of challenges makes it a potential difficult year for the investment banking industry as a whole, and for Staley specifically.

Concerning Black, CEO Jamie Dimon said, “Steve led the Investment Bank through one of the most difficult and complex times in our history, and helped build it into the market leader it is today. The transition to Jes Staley as CEO of the Investment Bank has gone smoothly and quickly, and Steve has said that he would like to focus more of his time on advising our clients.”
 
Some of new the focus of Black will include working on build up the global growth strategy of the company, interacting with the larger international clients of J.P. Morgan and being the face of the company to government regulators and monetary authorities around the world.
 
“The issues our clients are facing are more complex than ever and many are asking for deeper engagement from our senior team. I’m looking forward to shifting my attention to our global clients and leveraging what I have learned in my career to help them however I can,” Black said.

He will stay at the bank for at least another three years according to a company internal memo he wrote.