JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon addressed inequality, racism and corporate responsibility in his annual letter to shareholders on Wednesday morning.
A few hours later, JPMorgan’s board of directors, which he leads, asked shareholders to vote against a racial capital audit proposal.
JPMorgan Chase JPM,
is one of the nation’s largest banks that is urged to conduct racial capital audits to examine how their practices and policies affect non-white customers and communities of color in the wake of last year’s Black Lives Matter protests.
In particular, Dimon went further than the other CEOs, going to a Chase subsidiary in New York last year and taking a knee to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. In addition, Dimon spoke about the importance of careful planning, analysis and reporting on the economic and racial crises the United States is facing in a letter to shareholders, published Wednesday morning.
See: US economy will grow in 2023, but inequality needs to be addressed: Jamie Dimon in his latest letter to JPMorgan shareholders
He also mentioned the importance of transparency: “Unlike many companies that will simply sell you a product if you can afford it, banks must necessarily refuse customers or enforce rules that a customer might not. they like them (for example, pacts). This makes open and transparent relationships even more important. ”
However, when the bank released its power of attorney on Wednesday afternoon, JPMorgan called for a “no” vote on a shareholders’ resolution that would ensure the transparency of racial equity, saying it was already addressing these issues. In its defense, the company mentioned a $ 30 billion five-year commitment to “close the racial wealth division, support employees and break down the barriers of systemic racism,” and said it has “an extensive commitment to stakeholders who are affected by our activities ”, as well as an existing system for labor diversification.
In the shareholders’ proposal, CtW Investment Group highlighted JPMorgan’s “conflicting history” in addressing racial injustice. Among other things, the group mentioned the settlement of the bank’s $ 55 million federal lawsuit related to mortgage discrimination; closing its branches in majority-black communities; and lawsuits alleging discrimination against its black and Hispanic employees.
See: Companies declared “Black Lives Matter” last year, and now they are required to prove it
JPMorgan joins Citigroup Inc. C,
Wells Fargo & Co. WFC,
Bank of America Corp. BAC,
and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. GS,
requiring shareholders to reject racial capital audits. Morgan Stanley MS,
which had faced a similar proposal, recently reached an agreement with the CtW. According to the CtW, which has agreed to withdraw its proposal, Morgan Stanley has promised to conduct an internal review of its workforce and management and to talk further about its practices that affect equity for other non-white actors. before next year’s annual meeting.
A JPMorgan spokesman declined to comment Wednesday night.