Lawmakers Push JPMorgan Chief on How He Will Deal With Racism

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/19/business/jpmorgan-dimon-racism.html

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Democratic lawmakers, five from the Senate and two from the House of Representatives, asked Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, to list steps the bank is taking to combat discrimination against black customers and employees following a New York Times report about racism at some of the bank’s branches in Arizona.

In two letters to Mr. Dimon on Thursday, copies of which were also sent to regulators, the lawmakers asked whether the bank planned to change its hiring, lending and other practices to ensure it is treating minorities fairly.

The letter from the Senate was signed by Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Robert Menendez of New Jersey, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland. The letter from the House was signed by Representatives Emanuel Cleaver II of Missouri and Al Green of Texas.

The senators asked Mr. Dimon to provide a list of cases in which regulators have penalized the bank for violating fair lending and employment laws over the past decade. Mr. Cleaver and Mr. Green asked for a breakdown of how many black financial advisers Chase employed in each of its branches.

A spokeswoman for JPMorgan said the bank had not yet seen copies the letters, both of which were reviewed by The New York Times, as of Thursday afternoon.

“We’re happy to continue the dialogue,” said the spokeswoman, Patricia Wexler.

On Dec. 11, The Times published an article about recordings that a Phoenix-based employee and a customer made of other JPMorgan employees. One employee explained to a black customer why he was not receiving a service he expected from Chase: “You’re bigger than the average person, period. And you’re also an African-American,” he said. Another employee described a different black customer as coming “from Section 8,” adding that she did not “respect” her money.

Mr. Cleaver and Mr. Green requested a “comprehensive and thoughtful investigation” of the incidents described in the article.

On Dec. 13, Mr. Dimon wrote to the bank’s employees that the Arizona incidents did not reflect “who we are as a company and how we serve our clients and communities every day.”

Referring to Mr. Dimon’s letter, the senators, all of whom are members of the committee that oversees banks and the financial system, wrote: “Your public acknowledgment that racism and hate do not reflect your stated values and your stated commitment to remedy racism in the banking industry are hard to take seriously unless followed by prompt action.”