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Good morning.
JPMorgan Chase is making a major—read $30 billion over five years—commitment to provide economic opportunity to underserved communities, especially Black and Latinx communities. To be specific, that includes:
- $8 billion to make an additional 40,000 mortgage loans for Black and Latinx households;
- $4 billion to help 20,000 Black and Latinx households refinance and lower their mortgage payments;
- $14 billion in new loans and equity investments to add 100,000 affordable rental units in underserved communities;
- $2 billion in loans to 15,000 small businesses in majority Black and Latinx communities.
All of this, of course, is business for the big bank, not charity. But that is the point of stakeholder capitalism, which JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon helped advance last year as head of the Business Roundtable. Says Dimon:
“Systemic racism is a tragic part of America’s history. We can do more and do better to break down systems that have propagated racism and widespread economic inequality, especially for Black and Latinx people. It’s long past time that society addresses racial inequities in a more tangible, meaningful way.”
More news below. And check out the work my former colleagues at the Pew Research Center have done surveying 14 nations and showing that global discontent with China has reached historic highs. That’s partly due to its perceived poor response to the pandemic. Only the U.S. received more negative evaluations.
Alan Murray
@alansmurray
alan.murray@fortune.com
TOP NEWS
Huawei accusation
The U.K. Parliament's Defence Committee has outright accused Huawei of colluding with Chinese authorities—a step beyond the usual mistrust displayed by Western authorities. Huawei says the claim is groundless; it is certainly true that the committee did not provide any details to back up the assertion. In a new report, the committee also called for greater collaboration between democracies in developing alternatives to Chinese technology. Fortune
Pence v Harris
In last night's vice-presidential debate, challenger Senator Kamala Harris accused VP Mike Pence and the rest of the Trump team of "the greatest failure of any presidential administration" in their handling of the pandemic. Pence said the 210,000 dead will "always be in our hearts" but it was "a great insult to the American people" to tell them to wear masks. Fortune
Iran sanctions
The Trump administration is reportedly preparing to impose fresh sanctions on Iran's financial sector, despite warnings from Europe about the humanitarian consequences. Targeting the Iranian banks that aren't already subject to secondary sanctions would make it harder for the country to import food and medicine. Washington Post
Antitrust record
Poland's competition authority has issued a world-record antitrust fine: congratulations to its lucky recipient, Russia's Gazprom! The $7.6 billion fine is for the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline (read all about the Nord Stream 2 controversy here), which is a collaboration between Gazprom and European partners (also fined) Engie, Uniper, Wintershall, OMV and Shell. Poland says the companies structured their partnership in a way that was designed to bypass the need for Polish approval. Politico
AROUND THE WATER COOLER
Climate emergency
The European Parliament has finalized its position on carbon emissions reductions in the bloc, with a vote today for a 60% target. The European Commission is calling for 55%. Now let's see what the EU's 27 member countries have to say now. Reuters
No Davos
Next year's big World Economic Forum shindig will (maybe?) take place in Lucerne, not Davos, and in May, not January. The Swiss summit, at the Burgenstock resort, will have the theme "The Great Reset". WEF spokesman Adrian Monck: "The meeting will take place as long as all conditions are in place to guarantee the health and safety of participants and the host community." France 24
Google and publishers
Google said yesterday that it is set to reach a deal with French publishers that would see the tech giant pay them for their news. Which is just as well, because this morning a French court upheld the French competition authority's decision from earlier this year that Google must negotiate in good faith and pay the publishers fees (we recently explained why in this article.) Euractiv
Hyundai recall
Hyundai has issued a recall for over 25,000 Kona electric vehicles, which need software updates and battery replacements after the discovery of faulty manufacturing processes of the cars' battery cells. The fault could pose a fire risk, said the South Korean manufacturer. Reuters
This edition of CEO Daily was edited by David Meyer.
