1,000-plus Chase employees in Arizona will see wages increased

JPMorgan Chase today announced a $20 billion, five-year comprehensive investment to help its employees, and support job and local economic growth in the United States. The firm has always believed that the highest and best use of its capital is to support employees and local communities and businesses by doing what a bank is supposed to do: lending and investing. 

In Arizona, this means about 1,060 employees will see wages increased to $15 per hour effective Feb. 25. For Metro Phoenix, this means more than 800 employees will see wages increased to $15 per hour.

This long-term investment, which both increases and accelerates the firm’s current growth, is made possible by the firm’s strong and sustained business performance, recent changes to the U.S. corporate tax system and a more constructive regulatory and business environment. 

Through this new investment, the firm will develop hundreds of new branches in several new U.S. markets, increase wages and benefits for hourly U.S. employees, make increased small business and mortgage lending commitments, add 4,000 jobs throughout the country and increase philanthropic investments.

The investment brings together the best of the firm’s business and philanthropic efforts to drive inclusive economic growth and help create opportunity for more Americans. 

The $20 billion investment will focus on the following key areas:

1.      Investing in employees with further increases to wages and benefits. Wages will increase 10 percent on average – ranging from between $15 and $18/hour – for 22,000 employees. 

2.      Expanding the branch network into new U.S. markets, leading to increased small business lending and philanthropic investments, and further support for local low-and moderate- income communities.

3.      Increasing community-based philanthropic investments by 40 percent to $1.75 billion over five years.

4.      Increasing small business lending by $4 billion.

5.      Accelerating affordable housing lending by (a) increasing mortgage lending in low-and moderate-income communities and (b) accelerating commercial lending to build affordable housing.

“Having a healthy, strong company allows us to make these long-term, sustainable investments,” said Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO, JPMorgan Chase. “We are excited about further investing in our outstanding workforce and expanding into new U.S. markets. When we enter a community, we enter it with the full force of JPMorgan Chase behind it. We hire people. We lend to and support local businesses. We help customers with banking, lending and saving. And we align our business and philanthropic efforts to help more communities benefit from a growing economy. This company has made a significant economic impact in all of the communities we operate in, and we are excited to become an even more relevant part of many others.”

1.      Investing in employees with increases in wages and benefits.

For the second time in two years, the firm is increasing and accelerating hourly wages for many of its employees. The firm will raise wages from between $12/hour and $16.50/hour to between $15/hour and $18/hour in over 100 cities, depending on the local cost of living, effective February 25. This will benefit 22,000 full-and part-time U.S. hourly employees, notably in branches and customer service centers, in an effort to attract and retain great employees.

• Examples: Wages for New York City, San Francisco, Boston and Jersey City employees will increase to $18/hour. Wages for Chicago, Detroit and Wilmington, DE employees will increase wages to $16.50/hour.

• Later this month, eligible employees will receive an annual award of $750, which was communicated in December 2017.

• The wage increases and annual award builds on the $325 million the firm spends annually on employee training and development.

• The firm’s full benefits package is valued at on average $12,000 annually per employee in this pay range. It includes health care coverage and retirement savings.

The firm will also further enhance and make health care benefits more affordable. 

• To help ease the burden of out-of-pocket medical expenses, the firm will reduce medical plan deductibles by $750 per year for employees making less than $60,000. The firm already subsidizes more than 80 percent of the medical plan for these employees. Through medical plans offered by the firm, primary care visits already are exempt from a deductible and prescription drugs carry a low deductible. Free onsite clinics are also offered at 28 of the firm’s major U.S. locations.

• In 2017, JPMorgan Chase spent $1.25 billion on medical benefits for employees based in the U.S., where the medical plan covers almost 300,000 individuals, including employees and their family members. Plans are designed to encourage employees to focus on their health and insurance subsidies are tiered so that higher earners pay more and lower earners pay less.   

2.      Expanding the firm’s branch network into new U.S. markets. 

JPMorgan Chase intends to expand its branch network into new U.S. markets, opening up to 400 new branches over the next five years. These new branches will directly employ about 3,000 people.  

Currently, the firm has 5,130 branches in 23 U.S. states and intends to expand to 15-20 new markets in several new states over the next five years. Today, Chase serves 61 million U.S. households across its Consumer & Community Banking franchise and in 2017 supported over $900 billion in consumer and small business spending through credit and debit card products. The credit card, home lending, auto finance, merchant services and business banking businesses are largely national businesses already. The Consumer Bank is starting the formal application process for national expansion. 

“The heart of our company is our retail branches,” said Gordon Smith, CEO of Consumer & Community Banking, Chase. “We are a leader in 23 states, but aren’t yet in major markets like Washington D.C., Boston, Philadelphia, and many others. Now that we are planning to expand into new markets, we will hire thousands of new employees and help consumers and small businesses in these areas.” 

3.      Increasing community investments by 40 percent to $1.75 billion over five years.

The firm will increase its annual philanthropic investment, leading to a total investment of $1.75 billion over five years. Ongoing investments will continue to help drive inclusive economic growth in local communities. 

“Our philanthropy continues to be a strategic investment in driving inclusive economic growth,” said Peter Scher, Head of Global Corporate Responsibility, JPMorgan Chase. “We have established a model to help more people share in the rewards of the economy, and with this investment we will be able to further scale meaningful, long-term growth in more communities.”

• The firm’s $150 million investment in Detroit’s economic recovery continues to make an impact and establish a model for how to help more people share in the rewards of a growing economy. Going forward, the firm will continue to apply this investment model in other cities.  For example, the firm recently announced a $40 million investment in Chicago’s South and West sides and a $10 million investment in Washington, D.C.’s underserved neighborhoods.

• The firm also nearly tripled the size of its Entrepreneurs of Color Fund in Detroit from $6.5 million to over $18 million and is expanding the Fund to San Francisco and the South Bronx next month.

Other examples of some new and successful philanthropic investments in the U.S. include:

• Transforming America’s education and job training systems through increased investment in skill building for adults and young people in cities across the U.S. such as Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami and dozens of others. JPMorgan Chase is supporting proven and new training strategies and policies and partnering with community colleges, career technical education programs, and business to build career pathways to well-paying jobs in growing fields such as healthcare, advanced manufacturing and transportation, distribution and logistics.

• Expanding The Fellowship Initiative, an intensive academic, leadership and professional development program that contributes to increased education and career opportunities for young men of color, in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and New York. This effort helps them build their skills, networks and ability to access resources.

• The JPMorgan Chase Service Corps is a three-week, skills-based volunteer program that engages top-performing employees from around the world who share their expertise to help nonprofit partners expand their impact in the community. The Service Corps will be expanded to support more nonprofits in 2018 including in Chicago, Detroit and the South Bronx.

4.   Increasing small business lending by $4 billion to help businesses grow.

In addition to incremental small business lending in the new branches, the firm will hire 500 new bankers dedicated to supporting local businesses where the firm already has a presence. These new branches and bankers will help the firm increase small business lending nearly 20 percent, or $4 billion, over three years.

“Over 99 percent of American companies are small to mid-sized businesses and account for over half of the jobs created in the U.S. This important segment of the economy drives growth and is critical to the health of our communities” said Doug Petno, CEO, Commercial Banking. “Today, we support over 4 million small and mid-sized business clients, and we will be expanding our efforts and working even harder to deliver capital and ideas to support their success.”

• Planning to open offices in Charleston, SC and Bethesda, MD in 2018 and evaluating several other new locations across the country.

• Doubling investment in the firm’s Small Business Forward initiative to $150 million over five years to provide increased access to technical assistance and capital to small businesses owned by women, minorities and veterans.

5. Accelerating affordable housing lending.

• Increasing the firm’s lending commitment to expand homeownership in low-and moderate-income communities by 25 percent to $50 billion total over the next five years.

• Hiring 500 new Home Lending advisors.

• Increasing homeownership grants by nearly 70 percent from $1,500 to $2,500 for customers in low-and-moderate income communities. This program reduces the cash that customers are required to contribute at purchase and can be used towards closing costs and down payment – two common barriers to achieving homeownership.

• Expanding the homeownership grant program from 40 markets to be available nationwide.

• Increasing the firm’s commitment to preserving affordable rental housing in distressed communities by nearly 20 percent by lending a total of $7 billion over five years through commercial and nonprofit housing partners.

Today’s long-term investment builds on the firm’s more than 200-year history of investing in its employees and the communities and customers it serves.