JPMorgan agrees to racial-equity audit for $30 billion effort

JPMorgan Chase & Co. said it will do a third-party audit of its $30 billion racial-equity commitment, following Citigroup Inc. and BlackRock Inc. in agreeing to such a review.

The biggest U.S. bank will hire a third party to perform the audit and publish a report on the results by the end of this year, according to a statement Thursday. The move comes in conjunction with SOC Investment Group, a JPMorgan shareholder, agreeing to withdraw a proposal on the matter.

“We knew the only way to successfully serve all communities was to incorporate sound risk and controls processes from day one — to hold ourselves accountable to our commitment and drive equitable economic growth for all,” Brian Lamb, JPMorgan’s global head of diversity, equity and inclusion, said in the statement.

JPMorgan said in 2020 that it would commit $30 billion to help advance racial equity, including $8 billion to originate 40,000 mortgages for Black and Latino households and $14 billion to create 100,000 affordable rental units, both over five years.

“It’s a step in the right direction that JPMorgan Chase is responding to shareholders’ call for a third-party assessment examining the institution’s efforts to address the racial equity of Black and brown people and other marginalized groups,” Dieter Waizenegger, executive director of SOC, said in the statement.

Last year, JPMorgan’s board recommended that shareholders vote against an audit, arguing that the firm was already committed to advancing racial equity. Boards overseeing Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. also asked investors to vote against proposed audits at the time.