(Bloomberg) -- JPMorgan Chase & Co. says it’s identified areas across the company where it can improve policies and procedures to help the bank root out racism and discrimination.
The biggest U.S. bank will require diversity training for all staff and improve employee- and customer-feedback channels to make sure reports of inappropriate conduct or discrimination are properly handled, according to an internal memo Tuesday. The memo detailed preliminary findings of an investigation into the bank’s culture that started in December, after a New York Times article described racial discrimination in an Arizona branch.
“We will remain steadfast, continue to work now and in the future, and remain ever-vigilant in our effort to maintain a culture where racism cannot live or thrive,” Co-Presidents Gordon Smith and Daniel Pinto said in the memo. “Over the next 30 days, each business will review their current strategies and contribute a plan to bring this to life and each business will be held accountable.”
Smith and Pinto are temporarily running JPMorgan while Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon recovers from emergency heart surgery. Dimon asked Smith in December to look into the bank’s policies, practices and culture, saying the behavior described in the Times article “does not reflect who we are as a company.”
While dealing with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic “is a top priority for all of us,” JPMorgan also remains committed to improving its culture, Smith and Pinto said in the memo Tuesday.
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