Jpmorgan Chase spreads its urban development money to Paris

NEW YORK/PARIS: Jpmorgan Chase & Co, the biggest US bank by assets, said on Sunday that it has selected impoverished areas around Paris as the first foreign focus of an urban economic development strategy it started four years ago in Detroit.

The bank will contribute $30 million over five years to programmes to teach job skills and expand small businesses in Seine-saint-denis and other places with high unemployment and poverty, Jpmorgan said in a statement provided to Reuters.

Located north of Paris, Seine-saintdenis has the highest poverty and crime rates in France. Dotted with large social housing projects, the area is separated from wealthy Paris only by an extremely congested highway circling the city. The area was in the centre of the riots that devastated suburbs all over France a decade ago.

CEO Jamie Dimon planned to follow the announcement with a visit to the city on Tuesday. Dimon has been leaving more day-to-day operations of the New York-based bank to lieutenants while he promotes policies and public-private partnerships which he believes will promote economic growth.

His advocacy work has been primarily in the United States where Jpmorgan earns about 80 per cent of its revenue.

The Paris effort is part of Jpmorgan’s “Advancing Cities” programme, which builds on investments of $150 million in Detroit and $40 million in Chicago, cities where Jpmorgan has the biggest market share of bank deposits.

Jpmorgan executives have said they want more business abroad, particularly commercial lending to mid-sized companies. — Reuters