Date: 2024-06-17 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00019974
Organization
JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase Commits $30 Billion to Advance Racial Equity ... Our Path Forward ... A $30 billion commitment to advance racial equity
Peter Burgess
JPMorgan Chase Commits $30 Billion to Advance Racial Equity
JPMorgan Chase is making a $30 billion commitment over the next five years to address some of the largest drivers of the racial wealth divide. The following outlines the firm’s business, policy and philanthropic commitments.
I. Promote Affordable Housing and Homeownership for Underserved Communities
Black and Latinx households face a housing affordability crisis when it comes to both homeownership and rental opportunities. Homeownership rates are 25% lower for Black and Latinx families and, as rents continue to rise, Black and Latinx households are more likely to be cost-burdened than White households.
A. Homeownership
Over the next five years, the firm expects to originate an additional 40,000 home purchase loans for Black and Latinx households. To do this, the firm is committing $8 billion in mortgages. The firm is also committing to help an additional 20,000 Black and Latinx households achieve lower mortgage payments by providing up to $4 billion in refinance loans over the next five years.
Increase down payment and closing cost assistance funds for purchased and refinanced loans, and increase availability of affordable lending products for both buyers and current homeowners.
One of the material impediments to home ownership is closing costs and the following programs help address the issue:
- Chase is making it easier for first time homebuyers in underserved communities to achieve homeownership. For example, in Chicago, Chase has doubled its homebuyer assistance grant to $5,000 in majority-Black communities.
- To help more current homeowners take advantage of historically-low interest rates, but who cannot afford the upfront cash needed to refinance, Chase is providing a $2,500 grant to customers who refinance with the firm’s DreaMaker product.
- Amplify education and counseling programs to prepare more Black and Latinx communities for sustainable homeownership. To ensure lasting and responsible homeownership, Chase will further its work with counseling entities across a wide range of nonprofit relationships to develop, maintain and innovate homebuyer readiness programs. Additionally, the firm will leverage resources across the firm to optimize existing financial education services to better reach these communities.
B. Affordable Rental Housing
Over the next five years, the firm will finance an additional 100,000 affordable rental units. To do this, the firm will provide $14 billion in new loans, equity investments and other efforts to expand affordable housing in underserved communities.
Increase funding for the construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing for low- and moderate-income households by $2 billion over the next five years. Additionally, this year the firm increased Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) investments by $400 million, in line with its significant long-standing commitment.
Expand financing to preserve affordable rents. JPMorgan Chase will create incentives to help maintain affordability for rental units over the next five years. The firm will also invest $500 million in affordable housing preservation funds over the next five years.
Invest in vital community institutions and services. JPMorgan Chase will provide over $300 million in additional financing to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) over the next five years to support communities that lack access to traditional financing. Additionally, this year the firm is making an additional $100 million in New Market Tax Credits (NMTC) investments with a focus on Black-owned or -led projects as well as projects primarily serving Black populations.
II. Grow Black- and Latinx-owned Businesses
Black and Latinx small business owners face barriers to grow and scale their businesses. Black people represent nearly 13% of the U.S. population but only 4% of small business owners.
A. Small Business Support
Over the next five years, the firm will provide an additional 15,000 loans to small businesses in majority-Black and -Latinx communities. To do this, the firm will deliver $2 billion in loans.
Launch a new program designed to help entrepreneurs in historically underserved areas access coaching, technical assistance and capital. The new program will provide small businesses with 1:1 coaching and mentorship to help grow their businesses. The program will launch in Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Houston and Detroit in 2020, with expansion to additional cities in 2021. Next year, the program expects to rollout lending solutions with expanded credit eligibility to business owners from historically underserved communities.
Accelerate a digital lending product to better support the needs of small Black- and Latinx-owned businesses seeking quick access to capital. According to the Federal Reserve, minority small business owners cite long wait times for funding as their most common pain point with large bank lending. Minority small business owners are also twice as likely as White business owners to not apply for credit they need due to challenges with the application process. In order to better meet the needs of minority business owners, the firm will accelerate the rollout of its digital lending product. This digital lending product will better serve small business owners by offering faster time-to-funding and requiring a shorter, simpler application.
Expand the Entrepreneurs of Color Fund to support more Black and Latinx small business owners nationwide. In collaboration with LISC and a network of CDFIs, JPMorgan Chase will join other funders in supporting the expansion of the Entrepreneurs of Color Fund, currently operating in five U.S. cities, to a nationwide program providing low-cost loans and technical assistance to minority-owned small businesses.
Policy: Advocate for Small Business Administration (SBA) reforms and new aid for COVID-19. JPMorgan Chase will work with SBA to align products to meet the needs of Black and Latinx businesses and communities, provide additional aid for small businesses impacted by COVID-19 and more.
B. Supplier Diversity
Building on the firm’s supplier diversity efforts, JPMorgan Chase will spend an additional $750 million with Black and Latinx suppliers.
III. Improve Financial Health and Access to Banking in Black and Latinx Communities
There are significant racial disparities in the financial health of Black and Latinx households, which serve as a barrier to achieve financial stability, meet their long-term financial goals and build wealth. According to the JPMorgan Chase Institute, Black and Latinx families have 32 and 47 cents in liquid assets for every $1 held by White families.
A. Financial Health
Over the next five years, the firm expects to help one million people open new low-cost checking or savings accounts. To do this, the firm commits to hiring 150 new community managers, open new Community Center branches in underserved communities and materially increase marketing spend to reach more customers who are currently underserved, unbanked or underbanked.
Build awareness and trust in Chase Secure Banking to meet the needs of Black and Latinx unbanked and underbanked households and expand access to traditional banking. Chase will amplify awareness of Chase Secure Banking, a low-cost, no overdraft checking account available for those new to banking or who have had trouble getting or keeping a bank account in the past. Chase Secure Banking accounts provide users with all the benefits and perks of being a Chase customer, like fast access to thousands of fee free ATMs, free money orders and cashier’s checks, Chase’s mobile app and support from bankers in-person or by phone.
Hire 150 community managers and open new Community Center branches in underserved communities. Chase will hire 150 community managers by 2022 to foster community engagement in branches serving low-to-moderate income neighborhoods and majority-Black, -Latinx and other diverse communities. Chase will prioritize local hires and provide competitive compensation with benefits, salary and incentives. Additionally, Chase will open 14 new community-inspired branches in traditionally underserved neighborhoods by the end of 2021. Each branch will have a dedicated Community Home Lending Advisor and will collaborate with local community organizations to offer free skills training, small business pop-up shops in branches, fintech innovation and live events at no cost and open to everyone.
Events include Chase Chats, which are small group discussions with experts, special guests and bankers on topics ranging from retirement planning to starting a small business, and Currency Conversations, which are in-branch dialogues about financial wellness, in partnership with Essence Communications, to reach Black women nationwide.
Using learnings from the Harlem and Minneapolis (Ventura Village) community branches, Chase will open new Community Center branches in Chicago (Stony Island), Los Angeles (Crenshaw), Detroit (Corktown), Houston (Lyons & Lockwood) and Washington D.C. (Southeast), among other cities.
Continue to invest in our real estate presence in low-to-moderate income neighborhoods around the country. As part of the firm’s market expansion initiative, Chase will continue to open 100 new branches in low-to-moderate income communities across the country, including in Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit, Oakland, and New Orleans, among others.
Engage and enroll new customers in money management tools that help them reach their financial goals. Through a new budget planner tool, available later this year, and building awareness of tools like Autosave and Credit Journey, Chase will reach new and existing customers to help them save for their goals such as buying a house, buying a car or paying for their education.
Host grassroots community seminars in majority-Black and -Latinx communities to build awareness about financial investments. JPMorgan Chase will hold educational seminars on financial investments online and in branches across the country, and provide financial incentives for the adoption of self-directed, digital investing habits to help grow Black and Latinx wealth.
Policy: Support wealth building and savings. JPMorgan Chase will support a federal wealth and savings agenda to pilot portable benefits so that traditional employment benefits such as healthcare and paid leave are tied to workers; incentivize savings policies that will help families build emergency savings to weather a financial shock, such as side car savings accounts in existing retirement plans and preferable tax treatment without penalizing federal benefit access for low-income savers; and seed baby bonds to build wealth.
B. Minority Depository Institutions and Community Development Financial Institutions
Support Black and Latinx-led Financial Institutions. The firm will invest up to $50 million in the form of capital and deposits in Black and Latinx-led Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). These investments will be based on responsible vetting of the capacity of the institutions and the benefit the capital or liquidity would provide to the local communities they serve. Additionally, we will continue to mentor and advise select MDIs and CDFIs to help them achieve future success.
IV. Accelerate Investment in our Employees and Build a More Diverse and Inclusive Workforce
Businesses with diverse leadership generate 19% more revenue than non-diverse companies. Diverse and inclusive workspaces can also reduce turnover. Nearly 70% of millennials reported they would continue to work at a company for five or more years if it is diverse. JPMorgan Chase is committed to building a more equitable and representative workforce, and supporting workforce solutions and job training to advance racial equity in the workforce.
A. Focusing on Employees
Continue to build a more equitable and representative workforce and hold executives accountable toward achieving our firmwide diversity representation goals. This effort strengthens the way JPMorgan Chase incorporates diversity and inclusion priorities and progress into year-end performance evaluations and compensation decisions for members of the Operating Committee and their direct reports. It will also position the firm to drive additional accountability to managers throughout the firm.
Provide financial coaching services to the firm’s U.S. employees by the end of 2020. JPMorgan Chase will provide unlimited one-on-one telephonic financial coaching to its U.S. employees. The coaching benefit will include a financial wellness assessment to help employees prioritize their goals, as well as a website with tools and resources, and group engagement sessions. The benefit will be fully paid for by the firm.
Introduce new program to upskill and reskill JPMorgan Chase employees globally. As part of the firm’s commitment to the future of work, it will begin to offer a curated suite of educational programs to employees helping to prepare them for long-term success in a rapidly changing economy. The program will provide employees, including frontline and call center employees, with access to a range of high-demand credential and certificates, bachelor’s and master’s degree programs.
Provide all U.S. employees, including those in branch and customer service positions, with paid time off to vote as part of the Time to Vote coalition. JPMorgan Chase is a member of the Time to Vote coalition, a bipartisan group of corporations committed to providing all employees with adequate time off to participate in the elections. Employees are provided with up to 4 hours paid time off to vote if local polling hours do not permit them to do so before or after work, unless otherwise required by applicable state or local law.
B. Focusing on the Community
Investing equity in early-stage companies developing innovative models that create more opportunities in underserved communities. JPMorgan Chase will provide direct equity investments in early-stage companies working to address financial health and jobs and skills, among other societal issues, with a particular focus on serving the needs of Black and Latinx people.
Create partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) through curriculum development, scholarships and mentorship programs to increase the pipeline of HBCU students entering the financial planning profession. JPMorgan Chase will engage on a multi-year partnership with HBCUs to sponsor financial planning curriculum, create a mentorship framework and provide scholarships to HBCU students who are interested in financial planning.
V. Philanthropy
The firm will provide $2 billion in philanthropic capital over the next five years to drive an inclusive economic recovery and support Black, Latinx and other underserved communities. This extends and increases the firm’s current five-year $1.75 billion philanthropic commitment made in 2018. It will also include an emphasis on supporting Black- and Latinx-led organizations. As part of the firm’s philanthropic commitments, it will:
Offer low-cost loans and philanthropy to improve housing stability and affordability for Black and Latinx households. In 2020, the firm has committed nearly $109 million, with nearly half in long-term, low-cost loans and half in philanthropy.
Develop additional research to uncover opportunities and challenges facing Black and Latinx small business owners. Through the JPMorgan Chase Institute and other innovative research partners including the Milken Institute Center for Financial Markets, JPMorgan Chase will deepen the understanding of the opportunities and challenges for small business creation and growth as well as credit access faced by Black- and Latinx-owned small businesses.
Partner with Prosperity Now to support and strengthen nonprofits led by people of color across eight cities. Building on the firm’s long-time support for nonprofit leaders of color, the firm has committed $3 million in philanthropic investments to help Prosperity Now and its Building High Impact Nonprofits of Color Initiative provide organizations led by people of color with the tools they need to advance their work and promote financial health in the communities they serve.
Invest in new research into racial gaps in household finances and access to credit to better understand the challenges Black and Latinx families face. The JPMorgan Chase Institute will continue to examine the impact of job loss and income volatility, expense spikes, and debt burden, such as student loans, on Black and Latinx household financial health and well-being, including savings and wealth generation.
Invest in research to deepen our understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing workers in today’s environment. Through the JPMorgan Chase Institute, the firm will examine the impact of the pandemic on workers, including whether workers with children were more likely to lose or quit jobs and how this may impact the longer-term view of financial health. Through partnerships with Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as PolicyLink, the National Fund, and Burning Glass, the firm will examine the future of work and inequalities in the labor market.
Support diverse-led non-profit organizations that are creating innovative workforce solutions and providing job training to close opportunity gaps in the labor market and advance racial equity in workforce. JPMorgan Chase has committed $6 million in philanthropic investments to support non-profit leaders of color and amplify the innovative practices they are advancing in the field of workforce, education and training.
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Questions?
PETER BURGESS COMMENT 201221
I am fascinated by the COMMITMENT that has been recently announced ... JPMorgan Chase Commits $30 Billion to Advance Racial Equity ... but isn't this rather modest in the bigger scheme of things.
Quote 1 ... JPMorgan Chase reported record full-year profit of $36.4 billion for 2019, sending shares higher. The New York-based bank's earnings surged 12 percent from a year earlier as consumer loans and credit card spending increased in the community banking division, the company's largest, and bond-trading revenue surged.
Quote 2 ... As of 2020, the asset management arm of the bank has US$3.4 trillion in assets under management, while its investment and corporate bank arm holds US$27.4 trillion in assets under custody.
The modern international financial system has been gamed over the past 50 years in ways that are destabilizing the world in terrible ways. I studied engineering and economics at Cambridge in the late 1950s and then qualified as a Chartered Accountant in London. I became a very young CFO in the United States in my late 20s and was a consultant for the World Bank and the United Nations for many years. The numbers show the role big powerful financial organizations have played in setting the stage for the social, environmental ... and yes, economic dysfunction that now exists. I have been an advocate for many years for management metrics that incorporate social, economic and environmental progress, performance and impact in a coherent, comprehensive system (TrueValueMetics.org) so that big organizations like JPMorgan-Chase can become become a meaningful part of a solution that is good for everyone ... at scale and soon. I look forward to hearing back from someone in the bank's leadership. Peter Burgess
CHASE INSTANT RESPONSE
Thank you for your interest in our commitment to help advance racial equity. Your submission has been received and based on your question or comment is being routed to the appropriate group. You will receive a response once that group has an opportunity to review your question or comment.
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