JPMorgan sees TARP repayments OK'd in a few weeks

NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive James Dimon said he expects a few strong banks will be permitted by regulators to repay U.S. government bailout funds within a few weeks.

"We believe we can and should be able to repay TARP," Dimon said on Tuesday at his bank's annual shareholder meeting in lower Manhattan. "We believe the government will allow a few well capitalized banks to repay TARP in the next couple of weeks."

The Treasury Department stepped in last fall with bailout funds for nine of the largest U.S. banks to stabilize a system rocked by the collapse of Lehman Brothers. JPMorgan denied that it needed rescue financing and has repeatedly said it wants to repay the $25 billion it received as soon as it is permitted to do so.

Government stress tests this month revived market talk about which banks would be the first to repay investments under the Troubled Asset Relief Program, and when.

Banks have been eager to repay the money because it comes with several conditions, including limits on executive pay.

(Reporting by Joseph Giannone; editing by John Wallace)