JP Morgan Chase 2013 Annual Report Download - page 25

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In the last seven years, we have been through
a global financial crisis, massive regulatory
changes and a number of setbacks – but
our company has been able to recover and
prosper. Most important, our client fran-
chises consistently got stronger. All compa-
nies, at some point, are going to have tough
times. The ability of a company to overcome
them and be better for having done so is a
sign of its strength, not weakness.
As we navigate through 2014, our fortress
company and the power of our franchises
put us in good stead. We are in this busi-
ness forever. And we need to look beyond
current challenges so that we properly invest
and plan for the future. When all is said
and done, there is reason to believe that the
future of banking will be quite good. The
following paragraphs explain why.
The world has been getting better, not worse
It is hard to believe sometimes – when
you read in the newspapers and see on TV
all the terrible events happening on the
planet – that the world has consistently,
over the course of history, become a better
place for human beings. A recent book by
Harvard professor Steven Pinker entitled
The Better Angels of Our Nature chronicles
how mankind has made enormous progress
and has improved society throughout the
centuries. His research looks at issues like
murder, torture and other acts of violence
over the past thousands of years and shows
how today’s world is much safer and more
humane than in the past. It’s amazing that
even the 20th century, bloodied by two world
wars, was less violent than all other centu-
ries before it. Cruelties such as torture and
slavery over many, many years have become
increasingly rare (though they tragically still
exist). There are many contributing factors,
but Pinker points out some of the reasons:
increasingly just and moral governments;
the invention of new institutions like courts
of law and police forces; and expansion of
human knowledge and a heightened sense
of morality spread by the written word, reli-
gious institutions and schools, all of which
have helped influence people’s minds about
what is acceptable – and what is not.
Dr. Martin Luther King said, “The arc of the
moral universe is long, but it bends toward
justice.” Progress, sometimes painful and
slow, has been happening all around us all
the time, and the optimist in me believes that
it will continue.
We have an abiding faith in the United
States of America
I have spoken about this in the past, and
I don’t believe that it is blind optimism or
patriotism. America today may be stronger
than ever before. For example:
• The United States has the world’s stron-
gest military, and this will be the case for
decades. We also are fortunate to be at
peace with our neighbors and to have the
protection of two great oceans.
• The United States has among the world’s
best universities and hospitals.
• The United States has a reliable rule of law
and low corruption.
• The people of the United States have a
great work ethic and “can do” attitude.
• Americans are among the most entre-
preneurial and innovative people in the
world – from those who work on the
factory floors to geniuses like Steve Jobs.
Improving “things” and increasing produc-
tivity are American pastimes. And America
still fosters an entrepreneurial culture
where risk taking is allowed – accepting
that it can result in success or failure.
IV. WE BELIEVE OUR LONG-TERM OUTLOOK IS BRIGHT