Jamie Dimon, longstanding chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, is laying out a real timetable for his departure for the first time, sources have told Reuters.

In late June, the bank named Doug Petno and Troy Rohrbaugh as co-presidents, part of a leadership reshuffle that has placed the two as frontrunners for the top job when Dimon leaves.

Dimon intends to stay in post for up to three more years, Reuters reported, and insiders hope that the bank will name Petno or Rohrbaugh as his successor ahead of that.

Rohrbaugh, now leading consumer and community banking, is considered to have the lead internally, two senior executives at the firm told the outlet. They added that his promotion from the commercial and investment side of the bank to the consumer business suggests he is the frontrunner.

Citing a separate source familiar with the matter, Reuters said Dimon will become executive chairman at JPMorgan Chase after stepping down, echoing his public comments in February.

His successor could be named within two and a half years, one of the sources said, with every board meeting devoting a significant amount of time to the succession question. The two executives said that if Rohrbaugh or Petno impress quickly, the bank could move more swiftly, adding that waiting three years runs the risk of it losing potential successors.

Dimon, 70, has spent 20 years as chief executive and chairman of the largest bank in the world, and is one of the most recognisable faces on Wall Street. Beginning his career at brokerage Shearson, he has shaped the banking landscape of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
As president of predecessors Commercial Credit and Travelers, Dimon was instrumental in the 1998 creation of Citigroup, the third largest financial services institution in the US, where he also briefly served as president.

After becoming chairman and chief executive of banking group Bank One in 2000, he oversaw its 2004 merger with JPMorgan Chase, becoming the Group’s chief executive in 2006 and chairman in 2007.

JPMorgan Chase shareholders are more than happy for Dimon to stick around, Reuters said. Eric Kuby, chief investment officer at North Star Investment Management Corp, which owns JPMorgan shares, told the outlet that the bank’s shares “command a premium multiple” compared to other major bank stocks in part due to Dimon’s reputation.

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