JPMorgan Chase 2014 Corporate Responsibility Report Reflects Focus on Cities as Engines of Economic Growth

New York, May 14, 2015 /3BL Media/ – JPMorgan Chase & Co. today released its 2014 Corporate Responsibility report, highlighting steps the firm is taking to support economic growth and address critical challenges facing cities around the world. The report, Global Strength: At Work in Cities, features case studies of work the firm is doing to help cities address these challenges as well as innovative and sustainable solutions designed to create growth and opportunity.

“Strengthening local economies is essential to opening up access to opportunity,” said Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO, JPMorgan Chase & Co. “JPMorgan Chase is putting its resources to work – from financial to human capital – to help city leaders develop strategies that boost the economic vitality of their communities.”

The 2014 Corporate Responsibility report features case studies from many cities and perspectives from community and world leaders about how cities should think about sustainable economic growth. JPMorgan Chase’s work in cities is focused on removing barriers to opportunity and opening new pathways to success for economically disadvantaged communities, particularly in the areas of workforce readiness, financial capability, small business and community development.

This focus is evident in the firm’s work in Detroit. In 2014 JPMorgan Chase made a $100 million, five-year commitment to the city’s economic recovery. Drawing on JPMorgan Chase’s 80 years of business in Detroit, the firm is using its many resources – from its philanthropic and business resources to the expertise of its employees – to tackle issues ranging from workforce development to community and economic development. 

“With over half of the world’s population now calling cities home, cities have become the center of society’s most pressing social, economic and environmental challenges,” said Peter Scher, Head of Corporate Responsibility, JPMorgan Chase. “JPMorgan Chase is making long-term investments in cities around the world to help them become engines of growth and shared prosperity. If cities thrive, our company will thrive – we must do our part.”

Cities featured in the report as the focus of JPMorgan Chase’s initiatives include Athens,  Chicago, Columbus, Denver, Detroit, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Louisville-Lexington, Madrid, Mexico City, Miami, Milan, Mumbai, New Orleans, New York City, Phoenix, Portland and San Francisco. Mayors from many of these cities also provide leadership perspectives in the report on the importance of cities including Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, London Mayor Boris Johnson, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and New Orleans Mayor Mitchell Landrieu. The report also features remarks and interviews with other leaders such as National Council of La Raza President and CEO Janet Murguia, National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial and Unilever CEO Paul Polman.

“Going global isn’t just how we do business in Atlanta, it’s critical in today’s economy,” said Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed. “People and businesses are increasingly turning to cities for leadership, bold thinking, effective services and economic prosperity. At the end of the day, cities are where hope meets the streets.”

Demonstrating the scale of JPMorgan Chase’s philanthropic work around the world, the firm made over $200 million in contributions in 2014 to nonprofits in more than 44 countries. The report features how JPMorgan Chase used its many assets – from financial resources and business expertise to the talent of its employees – to bring new opportunities, solutions and ideas to cities:

• Investing in Detroit: Committed $100 million over five years to accelerate Detroit’s economic recovery, putting $34 million to work in the first year to revitalize the local economy, stabilize neighborhoods, help businesses expand and add jobs, extend affordable rehabilitation loans to qualified homebuyers and deploy highly skilled JPMorgan Chase employees to work with Detroit’s nonprofits.
• Building Communities: Provided $22 billion to low-and moderate-income individuals and communities through mortgage, small business and community development work. Provided $2.6 billion to low-and-moderate-income communities through community development lending, preserving more than 35,000 units of affordable housing and creating nearly 2,200 manufacturing jobs.
• Promoting Economic Competitiveness: Raised capital and provided credit of $2.1 trillion for clients. The Global Cities Initiative, a joint project of the Brookings Institution and JPMorgan Chase, added eight new cities to the Global Cities Exchange, a network of cities to grow exports, foreign direct investment and economic competitiveness, bringing the total to 28 U.S. cities.
• Developing a Skilled Workforce: Deployed the first $50 million of its five-year, $250 million New Skills at Work initiative, working with Houston, Louisiana, Miami, Columbus, New York City, the United Kingdom and France to identify skills gaps and career opportunities for their workforces.
• Growing Small Businesses: Provided $19 billion in new credit to U.S. small businesses and launched Small Business Forward, a $30 million, five-year commitment to support urban small business clusters.
• Expanding Financial Capability: Launched the Financial Solutions Lab, a five-year, $30 million initiative to identify, test and expand promising innovations to help Americans increase savings, improve credit and build assets. Distributed $18 million of a $35 million, two-year commitment to support and expand proven financial capability programs with nonprofits across the United States.
• Supporting Veterans: Hired more than 8,200 veterans since 2011 and helping support 21,000 servicemembers who are transitioning out of the U.S. military each month over the next few years. Continued leadership of the 100,000 Jobs Mission, a coalition of employers that had collectively hired more than 217,000 U.S. veterans and military spouses through the end of 2014.
• Promoting a Sustainable Economy: Helped clients identify opportunities to advance their environmental and social objectives, while reducing related risks; provided founding sponsorship for NatureVest, The Nature Conservancy’s conservation finance initiative. Invested another $13 million of JPMorgan Chase capital in investment funds providing basic services to underserved communities, bringing the total portfolio to $63 million.

Commitment to Impact

To inform and assess the impact of key philanthropic initiatives, in early 2015, JPMorgan Chase and the Urban Institute formed a $10 million, five-year collaboration. The Urban Institute will examine the firm's Corporate Responsibility initiatives and philanthropic programs and produce research and analysis that will further strengthen these programs.

For more information about corporate responsibility at JPMorgan Chase, or to read the report, please visit http://www.jpmorganchase.com/corporate/Corporate-Responsibility/cr-2014-overview.htm.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.6 trillion and operations worldwide. The firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small business, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com/.