THE boss of Bournemouth’s biggest private employer, JP Morgan, has defended his 31.7million US dollar (£22.3m) pay packet for 2020.

Jamie Dimon was among banking chiefs appearing before US senators to face criticism over their actions during the pandemic.

The chairman of the Senate’s banking committee, Sherrod Brown, criticised Mr Dimon, who is JP Morgan’s chairman and chief executive, for the gap between his pay and that of the workers.

But Mr Dimon said: “My compensation is set by the board. They look at multiple factors.”

He said the firm took “very good care of our people” when it came to training, healthcare and retirement benefits.

Mr Dimon became involved in a fractious exchange with Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren, who said JP Morgan had collected more than its competitors in overdraft fees from American customers.

The bank collected 1.46billion US dollars (£1.03bn) in such fees, the Senate heard.

She said: "You and your colleagues came in today to talk about how you stepped up to help your customers during the pandemic. It's a bunch of baloney.”

Mr Dimon said the bank had waived overdraft fees for customers who asked, but refused to commit to refunding them for others.