The US financial and economic crisis will worsen this year as hard-hit consumers default on credit cards and other loans, Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, has predicted in an interview with the Financial Times.

Mr Dimon, whose bank will report fourth-quarter results on Thursday, gave his bleak assessment as shares on both sides of the Atlantic tumbled on rising fears that banks would need more capital and a larger-than-expected fall in US retail sales.