Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley is demanding an update on the multi-billion pledges that five of the nation’s biggest banks made during the 2020 summer of civil unrest.
On Wednesday, Aug. 23, the Massachusetts Democrat sent letters to the CEOs of JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, U.S. Bancorp, and Wells Fargo, asking each to provide a “comprehensive financial audit report” by Oct. 23 about their promises that collectively amounted to over $32 billion.
Prompted by demands laid out by Black Lives Matter activists and other civil justice workers, the five major banks pledged to not only funnel money into housing programs and small business lending but to dissolve lending practices that have traditionally been racially biased or discriminatory. They also pledged to invest in diversity and inclusion initiatives.
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The largest of the pledges came from JP Morgan Chase. Over the course of five years, the banking institution said it would invest $30 billion into those efforts.
Executives for the bank said in February 2022 that the company had already deployed or allocated $13 billion of the pledge to finance 60,000 affordable housing and rental units. It also said it had approved $1 billion for affordable homes.
In the year of George Floyd’s death, which brought national attention to systemic and institutional racism, Citibank and Bank of America initially committed $1 billion each.
USBancorp’s US Bank allocated $116 million in June 2020 to tackle racial and economic disparities.
In March 2021, Bank of America later increased its pledge to $1.25 billion.
By September 2022, Wells Fargo announced a $420 million fund for diverse small-business owners as part of a racial equity audit.
The anticipated audit will encompass data, plans, and policy adjustments…
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