JPMorgan CFO says guidance now looks ‘little bit more on conservative side’

Asked while speaking at the Credit Suisse Financial Services Forum about guidance given on JPMorgan’s January earnings call, JPMorgan CFO Jeremy Barnum said: "So just starting with sort of the answer that I think everyone cares about first, we’re not going to revise guidance today… I think the level of uncertainty is quite elevated right now. So a lot of what we talked about at earnings was really sort of emphasizing the unique moment that we’re in and the amount of uncertainty that there is around how all these dynamics are going to play out. So the guidance that we gave at the time didn’t feel particularly conservative to us and felt appropriate in light of the various factors in play. Since then, the way things have played out across a range of different dimensions, probably if pushed, I would have to say that the current guidance is a little bit more maybe on the conservative side relative to what we were at earnings. But we think that’s appropriate conservatism because as much as there are some indicators that might lead you to think things would be a little better, there are other indicators that are reminding us of the uncertainty, it could easily make things be less good. So for now, no change in guidance, and the emphasis is really on the uncertainty given all the moving parts that are in dynamic right now."