Jamie Dimon on Thursday expressed JPMorgan Chase’s desire to be free from government intervention, calling the US Treasury’s toxic assets plan “irrelevant” to his bank and saying the lender could immediately repay $25bn in federal aid without raising new capital.

The chief executive’s comments underscore the belief at healthier banks, such as JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, that severing financial ties with the government would give them an edge on weaker rivals.