CNN International

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon speaks during an interview with CNN on April 6, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Austin Steele/CNN)

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned investors Friday not to be caught unawares if interest rates stay higher longer than expected.

“People need to be prepared. They shouldn’t pray that they don’t go up. They should prepare for them going up. And if it doesn’t happen, serendipity,” Dimon said on the company’s post-earnings conference call.

High interest rates have helped big banks, including JPMorgan Chase, since they widen the gap between the interest paid to customers and what they earn from investing that money. But climbing rates also helped drive last month’s collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, which held 55% of its customers deposits in long-dated bonds whose value diminished as interest rates rose.

Dimon stated that he believes the banking crisis will pass — even though he expects its effects to reverberate through the sector for years to come — but that the possibility of higher interest rates should remain on companies’ radars.

“If and when that happens, it will address problems in the economy. For those who are too exposed to floating rates, or those who are too exposed to [refinancing] risk, those exposures will be in multiple parts of the economy,” Dimon said.

“Now would be the time to fix it. Do not put yourself in a position where that risk is excessive for your company, your business, your investment pools,” he said.

Source：https://edition.cnn.com/