By: Brian Lamb
By: Brian Lamb
The past year has been one of the most tumultuous chapters in recent history for African Americans, with numerous reminders that systemic racism has devastating consequences for individuals, families, and communities.
The COVID pandemic – 19 is sweeping black communities across the country, killing black people at twice the rate of white Americans, while leaving a trail of lost jobs and closed black-owned businesses in its wake. This, along with the massacre of George Floyd and so many others, has sparked a great deal of corporate support for African Americans in recent months, and we have seen numerous examples of companies mobilizing to make concrete changes in the way they do. businesses in an effort to promote racial equity around the world.
As the largest bank in the United States, it was already Time for JPMorgan Chase to take ownership of its involvement in creating economic opportunity and inclusion for historically underserved communities.
Systemic racism is a tragic part of American history. It is a congenital defect in our society that has caused racial differences in virtually every area of American life, including wealth, home ownership, educational outcomes, medical care, incarceration rates, and life expectancy.
Real lives are affected by these gaps and it is our responsibility to do something about it, given the role of banks in healthcare
HOW JPMORGAN CHASE IS FIGHTING THE RACIAL WEALTH DIVISION?
Over the past several months, we have reviewed our business practices, products, and the role we play in the communities of this country to understand the changes we must make to address the main drivers of the racial divide of wealth. We’ve especially focused on developing ways to expand affordable housing and loans, increase credit and capital for black-owned small businesses, and improve access to tools that will help African Americans save money and move toward financial health. sustained.
This work led us to make a commitment of $ 30 billion over the next five years to provide economic opportunity in underserved communities, with a special focus on African Americans and Latinos. These commitments include loans, equity, and direct financing to promote homeownership and affordable housing.
We have set ourselves the goal of generating 40. 000 additional home purchase loans for African American and Latino households. To do this, we have committed $ 8 billion for mortgages. We also want underserved communities to be able to take advantage of historically low interest rates, and we have committed $ 4 billion to help African American and Latino households refinance their home loans.
CREATING PATHWAYS TO FINANCIAL HEALTH
Through our own research, we know that households African Americans tend to have less savings and a higher debt burden than other groups. Historically, African Americans have been forced to deal with less access to credit and often have to pay higher financing fees. Too many African-American Americans are also unbanked, increasing the likelihood of turning to predatory alternative financial services, such as check cashing and payday lenders.
To combat this challenge, our goal is to help one million people open low-cost checking and savings accounts. To achieve this, we must build stronger connections with underserved communities, which is why we are committed to hiring 150 new community managers. We are also planning to open new Community Center branches in the areas that need them most, and increase our marketing reach to our African American and Latino populations to raise awareness of these efforts.
SUPPORT FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN ENTREPRENEURSHIP
If we want to achieve significant progress in closing the gap For racial wealth, entrepreneurship should be a key part of the equation. We are committed to helping job creators in the African American and Latino communities gain access to the credit they need to launch, grow and scale their businesses. As part of this effort, we have committed to providing $ 2 billion in loans and spending an additional $ 750 with African American and Latino companies that can supply products and services to JPMorgan Chase.
We are also expanding our Entrepreneurs of Color Fund to support more African American and Latino small business owners across the country.
As we move forward with these efforts, we know we must hold ourselves accountable if they are to achieve their intended impact. We will continually assess how these commitments are being performed and adjust them when necessary. Ultimately, we know that no company can close the racial wealth gap, but it is our responsibility to try and work with other companies and legislators along the way.
We own our part in this, and we are just getting started.
This is a featured and paid item by JPMorgan Chase.
Visit JPMorganChase.com/Pathforward to learn more about our efforts to promote racial equity, including housing affordable, minority-owned businesses, financial health, workforce diversity and more.