Jamie Dimon’s retirement timing: still “five years away”

For years, Jamie Dimon has had the same joke: whenever you ask when he will step down from JPMorgan, the answer is always five years away.

Two years ago, Dimon said in a news release that he would remain CEO for “about five more years” while the bank named two co-presidents who could succeed him if needed.

Now, when asked about the timeline during CNBC’s media call on Tuesday, Dimon did not appear to commit to any specific retirement date.

“My statement remains the same: five years,” Dimon said. “If we ever set a formal retirement date, we’ll let everyone know.”

Understandably, the 63-year-old Dimon is in no rush to think about stepping aside. He built JPMorgan into the largest U.S. bank after the financial crisis, and the firm was described as having just posted the most profitable year in banking history. After the stock rose about 40% last year, JPMorgan is also among the most highly valued large lenders.

One reason for the January 2018 remark was to ease concerns that talented deputies might leave out of frustration, a criticism the bank had faced before. Since then, those deputies have gone on to run banks and financial institutions around the world, including Wells Fargo.

A JPMorgan spokesperson said the board has the final say on when Dimon retires and noted that the 2018 comment was only a rough estimate.

Dimon’s rival at Bank of America, 60-year-old Brian Moynihan, said he hopes to lead his company for as long as possible, citing Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett as an example.