JPMorgan appoints top job contenders as co-heads of consumer business

(Reuters) -JPMorgan Chase & Co on Tuesday appointed Marianne Lake and Jennifer Piepszak, largely seen as contenders for the top job at the largest U.S. bank, as co-heads of its consumer and community bank.

Lake, the CEO of the bank's consumer lending arm, and Piepszak, the chief financial officer, will replace Gordon Smith, who is also the chief operating officer of the bank.

Smith had recently informed Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon of his decision to retire at the end of this year, the bank said.

Lake has long been viewed as a potential successor to Dimon. Lake held the job of CFO from 2012 to mid-2019 when she was named the head of consumer lending. Piepszak was heading card services at the time and was named to replace Lake as CFO.

The consumer and community banking unit accounts for roughly 40% of the bank's total revenue, making both appointments an important stepping stone for Piepszak and Lake.

During the many years that Dimon has run the bank, he has made it a practice to move top executives into different roles to give them more experience across the banking franchise. https://reut.rs/3fvlUb4

Dimon has made something of a joke of perpetually saying he will resign in five years. In 2019, he said the five-year clock had actually begun.

Daniel Pinto, co-president and chief operating officer of the bank and CEO of JPMorgan's corporate and investment bank, will become the sole president and chief operating officer of the firm when Smith leaves.

Smith and Pinto ran daily operations at the bank when Dimon was away for heart surgery last year.

Jeremy Barnum, head of global research for the corporate and investment bank unit, will succeed Piepszak as finance chief, effective immediately, the bank said.

JPMorgan's consumer and community banking unit in April reported a 6% decline in first-quarter revenue, as overall credit card balances fell.

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru and Elizabeth Dilts Marshall in New York; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Anil D'Silva)

FILE PHOTO: A JPMorgan logo is seen in New York City, U.S., January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith/File Photo/File Photo

FILE PHOTO: A JPMorgan Chase & Co building is shown in Irvine, California, U.S., January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

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