by Calculated Risk on 1/30/2007 06:43:00 PM

From MarketWatch: Dimon sees a sign of recession

Rising defaults in some of the riskiest home loans offered by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. signal a recession may be looming, Jamie Dimon, the bank's chief executive said Tuesday.

Dimon, speaking at Citigroup's annual financial services conference, said high-risk loans - as measured by credit scores and loan-to-value ratios of 90% or more -- make up 2% of the bank's home equity portfolio, Dimon said according to a live webcast.

He also said defaults are rising at J.P. Morgan "a little bit," adding, "home equity is subject to deterioration" from a recession, but that the bank is well positioned to sustain a downturn in the economy. The bank has largely exited the subprime lending area.

Did someone just say "credit crunch"?