M&F latest boost comes from JPMorgan Chase, Google

Feb 23, 2021

Another big bank has publicly stepped up to buy a stake in Durham’s M&F Bank. This time it’s JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), following similar moves made by both Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) in recent months.

It’s good business for both banks, said Erica Ellenbogen, managing director for technology and disruptive commerce at JPMorgan’s commercial banking unit. Securities filings and interviews show that, altogether, since the renewed social justice movement came to a head last summer, big banks have funneled $18 million in equity into M&F Bank, one of the oldest historically Black-led banks in the nation.

JPMorgan Chase, a $3.4 trillion bank, is committing $50 million to Minority Depository Institutions and Community Development Financial Institutions. Already, $40 million in total has been doled out – including to M&F Bank. Other institutions to receive an investment from the initial round include Louisiana-based Liberty Bank and Trust, New York-based Carver Federal Savings Bank and Los Angeles-based Broadway Federal Bank.

But JPMorgan is adding something new to the equation through a partnership with Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) – a money market product geared specifically for minority depository institutions (MDIs) such as M&F. In addition to collecting fees from the new product, JPMorgan also gets to boost minority communities – including areas it’s targeted for retail branches as part of its nationwide rollout.