JPMorgan Chase Commits $30 Billion In Home and Businesses Loans To Black, Latino Communities Across U.S.

In October 2020, JPMorgan Chase announced a $30 billion initiative providing home and business loans in Black and Latino communities across the U.S.

Through the initiative, JPMorgan Chase has a goal of providing 40,000 home loans, 20,000 refinanced goals, 15,000 small business loans, and $100 million in deposits to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). Additionally, the bank has pledged to construct or redevelop more than 100,000 affordable housing units across the country.

Former Sovereign Bank Executive Vice President David Miree is the co-sponsor of JPMorgan’s $30 billion commitment and told the Bay State Banner it’s designed to uplift and assist communities who need it the most.

“It’s not just taking one process or one area of a bank and saying, ‘How we can do more,” but it’s a very holistic approach to how you can uplift communities in a very deliberate and innovative way,” Miree told the BSB.

Miree, an Ohio University alum, has a wealth of experience in banking. He spent more than a decade at Wells Fargo, working in several roles, and worked at Webster Bank and Chevy Chase Bank.

The Black Lives Matter movement, sparked by the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, took an emotional toll on Black Americans. Add to that the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in a 40% decrease in the number of Black businesses, the largest decline of any racial demographic, according to the Washington Post.

Miree said the two events were an eye-opener for JPMorgan Chase, showing the bank it was time to do even more to uplift Black and Latino communities, marshal all of its resources, and use them in a calculated and efficient way to serve underserving people and communities.

During his career, the JPMorgan Chase executive has seen the banking and financial industry go from one that kept Black and Latino people out to one that ensures their success by providing the access, tools, and money small businesses need while also providing financial services and education to members of the communities those businesses serve.

JPMorgan Chase’s initiative, directed by Miree, is a big reason for the significant increase in Black and Latino-owned businesses from the pre-COVID era.