Like all bank boards, the JPMorgan board must consider the issue of succession--even when the CEO is only 53 and at the peak of his powers. Jamie Dimon may have made his pick. He set up James Staley as the sole head of investment banking. At the same time, William Winters, current co-head of investment banking, said he will leave the company. Previously, he was seen as a possible CEO candidate. Steven Black, the other co-head, will stay only through 2010 as the unit's executive chairman.

These developments have come as a surprise to many, but there is no shying away from the succession talk. Staley will have to perform well and keep the bank near the top of the tables. If he can do that for a decade or so (until Dimon has had enough), the job may be his. But a lot can happen between now and then. A crop of up and comers--including Michael Cavanagh, Charles Scharf and Mary Callahan Erdoes--may be factors, the New York Times notes. 

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