“There simply is no speed fast enough,” to train JPMorgan employees how to use machine learning, Jamie Dimon, chief executive of the $2.6 trillion JPMorgan Chase bank, noted in his annual letter to shareholders released today.

Expressing a bullish outlook for the future of the U.S. economy, Dimon’s letter noted that the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic has left many consumers with high savings, which could become the base for an economic boom, when complemented by vaccine rollouts.

In a wide-ranging account of JPMorgan’s outlook and his take on the macroeconomic conditions, Dimon noted that banks are facing “enormous competitive threats — from virtually every angle.”

In addition to competition from shadow banking, financial institutions are up against players from Silicon Valley, “both in the form of fintechs and Big Tech companies” like Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Walmart, Dimon noted. “As the importance of cloud, AI and digital platforms grows, this competition will become even more formidable.”

Dimon has served as the CEO of JPMorgan since 2005, and is the only bank chief executive to have led an institution through the 2008 financial crisis and the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. His letter also expressed the bank’s keen desire to shift to a more data-intensive approach toward banking and how moving to a cloud-based approach allows, “immediate ability to access data and associated machine learning with virtually unlimited compute power.”

“Availability of data – and banks have a tremendous amount of data – makes data enormously valuable and digitally accessible. All of this work takes time and money, but it’s absolutely essential that we do it,” the letter noted.

Addressing some of the specific issues facing JPMorgan, Dimon said that cyber risks have continued to be a significant and persistent threat. “We have pointed out to our shareholders before that having disciplined cyber hygiene is almost as important as the money you spend,” the letter noted. Dimon also pointed out that the bank spends more than $600 million a year on cybersecurity and urged governments to build on previous agreements to recognize the applicability of international law to cyberspace.

“Not only are we slow in dealing with the past, but it distracts us from dealing with the future,” Dimon noted, adding that the reform process begun after the Great Recession via the Dodd-Frank Act is “bogged down” in the past. Some issues requiring immediate attention include shadow banking, cryptocurrencies, proper use of AI and disclosures in private markets, according to the letter.

Dimon’s overall outlook is that the U.S. economy may be approaching a “goldilocks” moment characterized by quick, sustained growth while inflation and interest rates gradually move upward.

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