The longtime chief of J.P. Morgan Chase thinks that he has a clear view of what’s been holding back the U.S. economy over the past seven years.

“Ourselves! Our policies!” intoned Jamie Dimon during a question-and-answer session at a conference for investors hosted by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. JPM, +0.21% on Tuesday in New York. Dimon pointed to toughened regulations against the financial system in the wake of the 2008-09 financial crisis and deadlocks that resulted in sequestrations, or across-the-board government spending cuts, as some of the headwinds that the U.S. economy has faced over the past several years.

“Those things hold back growth,” Dimon said. “Even regulatory policy sucked up a lot of bank lending capabilities that sucked up growth,” he said, echoing the common refrain from critics that tight regulations against the U.S.’s largest financial institutions has hampered the economy.

By Mark DeCambre at www.marketwatch.com