JPMorgan pledges $30 billion to address racial wealth gap

JPMorgan Chase on Thursday said it would commit $30 billion to address racial inequality over the next 5 years, marking one of the largest corporate pledges related to race since the death of George Floyd.

The initiative seeks to provide $8 billion in new mortgages for Black and Latino borrowers, $14 billion in loans for affordable housing projects, $2 billion in small business loans, and $2 billion in philanthropy.

In comparison, Bank of America and Citigroup have made similar pledges totaling about $1 billion each.

JPMorgan, the largest U.S. bank by assets, earned $36.4 billion in profit last year.

A wide range of U.S. companies from Facebook to Kraft Heinz has also announced financial commitments to counteract systemic racism.

But JPMorgan's commitment stands out because of the way the bank is embedding the initiative across its business lines.

In addition, the bank has also committed to do more business with minority suppliers, improve the diversity of its workforce, and open 100 branches in low-income communities.