The US inching closer to a potential default could spark panic among investors, Dimon said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. That could ultimately impact other markets outside of the U.S.

Brian O'Shaughnessey's latest venture, Imperial Bancorp, LLC, is set to secure licensing in the next four to six months, when he expects that "spreads and interest rates will tighten and loans will be worth more."

After a selloff toward the end of 2022 when it sought to reduce liquidity risk, the company resumed purchases of whole loans last quarter.

First Republic Bank was shuttered by regulators early Monday, and all its deposits and most of its assets were acquired by JPMorgan. San Francisco-based First Republic was undone by low-rate mortgages it made to its wealthy customers as well as by the fallout from last month's banking crisis.

The California bank, which endured large deposit outflows in March, anticipates selling its $2.7 billion lender finance portfolio in the coming months. It's also looking at cutting facilities, employee headcount and vendor costs.

First-quarter results on Monday showed that its key units continued to lose money and shed clients, and the firm borrowed far more from a central bank liquidity backstop than previously known.

"Crisis is too strong a word, and words like that get used a lot," though there was "a fair amount of disruption for a few weeks there," Moynihan said.

The Tennessee bank confirmed in its earnings report that the deal, already delayed by several months amid heightened regulatory scrutiny, likely would not close by a May 27 deadline. No new target date has been set.

The largest U.S. bank by assets raised its forecast for net interest income in 2023 to $81 billion from $74 billion, a positive sign for investors wondering how an economic downturn might weigh on profits.

Banks could be in for a long, slow trickle of bank failures and consolidation in the coming months and years, particularly if inflation persists and interest rates keep rising. A downturn in commercial real estate could add to banks' problems.