Conservative investor pulls JPMorgan resolution, cites changes
addressing 'politicized finance'
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[May 21, 2024] By
Ross Kerber
(Reuters) - A conservative shareholder has withdrawn a resolution filed
for a vote at Tuesday's annual meeting of JPMorgan, according to the
investor's representative, who said the move reflects changes the Wall
Street bank has made to take more account of diverse viewpoints.
JPMorgan's meeting was to include Proposal 11, a call for the bank to
report on how the bank's policies impact employees "based on their
religion (including religious views) or political views."
Jerry Bowyer, a fund consultant who represents David Bahnsen, the head
of the family trust that filed the resolution, said it was withdrawn in
light of several steps the bank has taken that show it pulling back from
political tests for customers.
One factor, Bowyer said, was the bank's decision to drop a requirement
that merchants using its WePay service not accept payments tied to risks
like allegations of racism or sexual harassment.
He also cited a note that JPMorgan included in a recent climate report
stating it serves customers "regardless of political, social or
religious viewpoints."
And, Bowyer said the family trust appreciated recent comments by
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon including critical remarks about proxy advisers
in Dimon's annual letter to investors.
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"These were all positive signs of them recognizing politicized finance
as a problem," Bowyer said.
JPMorgan and other global banks have been under fire from conservative
activists who charge they have cut off clients over right-leaning
political views, sometimes referred to as "debanking." At the same time
other investors have pressed banks to take more account of social and
environmental issues.
An archived webpage shows that as recently as August, merchants using
JPMorgan's WePay service had to agree to not accept payments or use the
service in connection with "social risk issues." The bank defined those
as "subject to allegation and impacts related to hate groups, systemic
racism, sexual harassment and corporate culture."
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That language no longer appears on the WePay terms of service.
The Alliance Defending Freedom, which calls itself a Christian law
firm, said it first discovered the new language in November.
JPMorgan did not immediately say when the language was changed, but
said the old language dated to its purchase of WePay, which closed
in December 2017.
Asked about the new language promising to serve customers regardless
of their viewpoints and other communications that Bowyer said led to
the withdrawal of the resolution, a bank representative said the
material only reflected longstanding policies.
“While the language may look new, the policies and practices are
not. We support clients around the globe and in every state in the
U.S., across industries, religions and political affiliation," the
representative said via e-mail.
"We do not and would not close an account due to a client's
political or religious affiliation, and we’re making sure to
articulate that long-held policy wherever and whenever possible,"
the representative added.
JPMorgan defended its political neutrality after WePay suspended
services in 2021 to Defense of Liberty, a Missouri political action
committee that planned to host an event for Donald Trump Jr, eldest
son of the former U.S. president. JPMorgan said at the time the
suspension was a mistake and moved to reinstate service.
Jeremy Tedesco, senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom,
said the WePay shift was significant.
"These policies give people a foothold to demand banks cancel
services. So eliminating that is not a small thing," he said.
Tedesco's group plans to issue on Tuesday a new edition of its
“Viewpoint Diversity” index on major U.S. companies, criticizing
many for having vague or subjective terms of service.
(Reporting by Ross Kerber in Boston; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
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