Bank quarterly earnings calls offer a regular look under the hood of a complex industry. But whether banks are thriving or flailing, their executives usually stick to benign scripts focused on internal strategy shifts, macroeconomic factors and the like.
One longtime exception is John "Johnny" Allison, the chairman and CEO of Home BancShares, a $22.8 billion-asset company just north of Little Rock, Arkansas. Allison is known for his outspokenness on any topic that he thinks might impact the sector.
Last week, Allison used his company's third-quarter earnings call to endorse former President Donald Trump in the upcoming election, a departure from the industry-wide pattern and even from his own past practice.
"Whether you like Donald Trump or not, I believe he has to win the race," Allison said on the earnings call. "We know what he did last time, and he was business-friendly. Watching both candidates through this short campaign has been very painful for all of us, but after watching, I cannot imagine anyone voting for Mrs. Harris."
In a two-minute spiel during the Thursday call, Allison expressed concern about Vice President Kamala Harris's potential influence on economic issues like inflation and taxes. He also broached topics that have less connection to Home's financial performance, like crime and immigration.
In a follow-up interview Monday, Allison said that he endorsed Trump on the earnings call because of the election's impact on the banking industry, but he also reiterated arguments he made the previous week about immigration and crime.
Allison added Monday that he felt that it was important to offer his endorsement of Trump as the representative of Home's 2,500 employees and thousands of shareholders. He said that he's always been outspoken about topics that affect the economy, "good and bad."
"So maybe you don't think politics should be injected," Allison said. "I really don't care what other bankers do. I run a top-performing bank, one of the best in the country. I have good shareholders. They know how straight and honest and forward I am, and how I say what's on my mind."
In the interview with American Banker, Allison was suspicious and at times confrontational. He expressed concern about being quoted accurately, noting that he was recording the interview. He was also critical of the notion that his comments about Trump and Harris were worthy of an article.
Allison went on to tell American Banker that the job of the publication should be to help bankers, he asserted that his comments about immigration should be applauded, and he asked if the reporter was "a Harris supporter."
The CEO ended the 15-minute call by instructing American Banker to be objective in its reporting of the story, adding with a laugh, "Or I'll be talking about you on the conference call next time."
Other bank leaders have refrained from wading into politics on their quarterly updates — at the most remarking that
Allison is the only bank CEO to endorse a presidential candidate on an earnings call this year, according to an American Banker analysis of transcripts for U.S.-based public banks.
Brett Rabatin, an analyst and head of research at Hovde who's covered Home since 2019, said Allison kicks off each earnings call with some color about factors he sees as impacting the economy. The bank and its leader have built a culture of not beating around the bush, Rabatin said.
"He's just one of the most unique CEOs," Rabatin said. "So I think a lot of people just expect it to be entertaining. And I don't know that they think too deeply about stuff that he says like that. Some folks might just be like, 'Well, it's Johnny. That's just part of his personality.'"
The novelty of Allison's comments last week isn't that he supports Trump. Rabatin and Piper Sandler analyst Stephen Scouten both said in interviews that most bank CEOs are probably inclined to vote for Trump over Harris in the Nov. 5 election.
In a
Allison's comments last week mark the first time he's used an earnings call to endorse Trump as a presidential candidate, though he's made remarks over the last eight years about the advantages of the previous and potential future Trump administration. He told American Banker on Monday that he's voted for Democrats Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton in earlier elections, saying that he picks the person he believes "is best for our country," regardless of party.
While other bank CEOs have not made endorsements (at least not on their companies' earnings calls), a number of former finance industry leaders signed a letter last month rallying behind Harris for president.
The list of signers includes former Vice Chair of Bank of America Anne Finucane, former Chairman of Bank of America Chad Gifford, former American Express CEO Ken Chenault and former PayPal CEO Dan Schulman. Also on the list was Robert Wolf, the former CEO of UBS Americas, a longtime Democratic fundraiser who served in various roles during the Obama Administration.
Although megabank leaders do regularly opine on public platforms about
In private, however, Dimon
Joseph Evangelisti, a JPMorgan spokesman, wrote in a statement to the Times that Dimon "has never publicly endorsed a presidential candidate, but he speaks out forcefully and often on policies to help strengthen our country and lift up communities."
To be sure, there are no rules against endorsing political candidates on earnings calls. Rabatin said other bank leaders don't speak as openly as Allison because they don't see an upside in doing so.
Scouten, who's covered Home for the last decade, said that Allison's tactics probably wouldn't fly as well if other bank leaders tried them. But because the CEO has proved his credibility over time — by consistently delivering strong returns — Home shareholders aren't put off by his more brazen comments.
"[Allison] is who he is," Scouten said. "These people have known him for so long."
As long as the bank maintains its strong performance, Rabatin said, people won't push back when Allison uses his earnings call as a soapbox.
In the third quarter, Home brought in net income of $100 million, compared with $98.5 million in the same period last year. Its return on assets — which measures how much the bank profits for each dollar of assets — was 1.74%, down slightly from 1.78% a year earlier.
The banking industry reported an aggregate return on assets of 1.2% in the second quarter of 2024, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data. In the same period, Home logged an ROA of 1.79%.
Allison said in the Monday interview that shareholders invest in Home, in part, "because of my attitude and how we run this company."
