Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co.

On March 27, Jamie Dimon and other bank CEOs met with U.S. President Barack Obama, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and National Economic Council Director Larry Summers. After the meeting, Dimon spoke with reporters from CNBC, Bloomberg TV and ABC World News Tonight. Highlights follow.

We spent well over an hour with the President of the United States. As he normally does, he asked a lot of questions. He’s interested in what people think.

The President made it clear that he’d like this country to get back on track. Among the many things he’s worried about is getting the financial system strong. He wants to make sure people can be completely confident in the financial institutions so they can help get this country moving again.

I think it’s fabulous that he and his team will spend the time to listen, talk, engage with us. As for the banks, we’re going to do everything we can to help this country get stronger and better and healthier quicker.

On the administration’s plan for fixing the economy
While we won’t always agree, I think they’re smart. They’re tough. They’re ethical. They want to get things done. I applaud the fact that they’re engaging in conversation, as opposed to just deciding what to do without speaking to people first. I came away from this meeting with a heightened sense that they’re on the ball and that we’ll get this thing fixed. I think the total plan is a pretty overwhelming force.

On a government authority with the ability to unwind troubled institutions
We desperately need to modernize our regulatory system. I’m not blaming the regulators. They didn’t have all the authorities they needed to take care of some of these problems. Regulators need the authorities to handle these problems in a way that doesn’t damage America. So I don’t think companies should be too big to fail. We need the ability for companies to fail in an orderly way so that the damage is minimal and doesn’t hurt the American public.

On higher capital standards for large financial institutions
At JPMorgan Chase, we’ve always believed in having a lot of capital, regardless of regulatory capital standards, for the precise reason that bad things happen and you should be prepared for them. There will be a lot of regulatory changes, and I’m sure we won’t agree with all of them. I’ve only had a chance to glance at the Treasury Secretary’s new Public–Private Investment Program, but I think it’s thoughtful, and I’m grateful that we’re going to be part of the conversation.

On compensation
The President thinks we should be very cognizant of the needs and desires and anger around the country on compensation. Banks made an awful lot of mistakes, and our compensation should recognize that. It’s clear a lot of errors were made around compensation. At JPMorgan Chase, we already had good principles and a rigorous compensation process in place. I think the President would like to see a lot of self-restraint, but he is not against wealth. He’s against pay that’s not for performance, and so am I.

On the economy
There are little signs of health in the economy. Home prices are a little better than they were before. While the economy is still going down, it’s a little better than it was. We need to just put our shoulder into it until it’s done. And we don’t know if it’s going to take three months, six months or a year and a half, but whatever it is, we’re devoted to doing what we have to do.

The capital markets are recovering. Bond deals are being done. Some credit spreads are coming in. More homes are being sold in California, and home affordability is way up. The mortgage rate’s down to 4.85, so a lot more people can refinance—it’s almost like a tax cut to them. The stimulus is just getting in people’s pockets.

I’m an optimist. I think these things will start to move the system in the direction we want it to go.