In a series of letters to the heads of five major banks – JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo and Citibank – the congresswoman called for each to present “a comprehensive financial audit report” by Oct. 23.
The letters point to the billions of dollars pledged between the banks in wake of Floyd’s murder.
That includes a commitment of $1 billion each by Bank of America and Citi to address racial inequality, as well as a $30 billion commitment made by JPMorgan Chase to help close the racial wealth gap.
“Since the founding of this country, the financial industry has benefited greatly from systemic racism and banks have been lead actors in the discrimination, exploitation, and degradation of Black communities in particular,” Pressley wrote.
Some of the banks have provided updates on the status of their pledges in recent years, including JPMorgan Chase.
In a statement to The Hill on Wednesday, a spokesperson for Bank of America also said it “committed earlier this year to an assessment of our programs and look forward to sharing that when it’s complete.”
But there has been scrutiny on how billions of dollars pledged by corporations to fight inequality in the wake of Floyd’s murder have been spent.
“As the CEO of one of the five largest banks in the nation, you play a key role in determining which individuals and communities have access to economic opportunity,” Pressley wrote each of the banks, before calling for “greater transparency” from the banks on the status of the commitments.
The Hill’s Aris Folley has more here.
