Hundreds Storm Office of JP Morgan Chase Lobbyist, Demand Commitment to Communities

3/29/2004

From: Emily Severson, 312-243-3038; http://www.npa-us.org

WASHINGTON, March 29 -- Hundreds of grassroots neighborhood leaders from National People's Action (NPA) are paying a visit to the office of the head of Federal Governmental Affairs for JP Morgan Chase, Stephen S. Ruhlen, on Monday, March 29, to demand that JP Morgan sign a written agreement to commit to communities.

The leaders plan to arrive at Ruhlen's office, located at 300 Connecticut Ave., NW, around 11 a.m. EST.

NPA spearheaded efforts to pass the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) in 1977, which requires that any federally insured depository institution provide for the credit needs of the area that it services. NPA groups are concerned about JP Morgan Chase's unfair lending practices. A recent study by the National Training and Information Center showed the bank had disproportionate denial rates for African-American and Hispanic borrowers across the country. JP Morgan Chase has proposed to buy Bank One, which would make the combined company the second largest bank in the world. The groups met with representatives from both banks on March 8 in Chicago, but Mark Willis, executive vice president of JP Morgan Chase said he would not sign into a written CRA agreement.

"From our experience, when banks merge and move away from the communities, they become less responsive to community needs," said Brenda LaBlanc, NPA co-chair. "This research shows that JP Morgan Chase is already not supporting the needs of African Americans and Hispanics. We do not want to let an organization with a track record like this become more powerful without reaffirming its commitment to communities."

A recent analysis showed that JP Morgan Chase had incredibly high denial rates for African Americans and Hispanics throughout the country. For example:

-- Cincinnati, Ohio: 13.61 percent denial rate for Whites; 54 percent denial rate for African Americans and only 1 origination to a Hispanic.

-- Pittsburgh, Pa.: 27.9 percent denial rate for Whites; 48.48 percent denial rate for African Americans and only 1 origination to a Hispanic.

-- Grand Rapids, Mich.: 21.61 percent denial rate for Whites; 51.43 percent denial rate for African Americans and 55.56 percent denial rate for Hispanics.

-- Springfield, Ill.: 36.28 percent denial rate for Whites; 75 percent denial rate for African Americans and 100 percent denial rate for Hispanics.

-- Cleveland, Ohio: 34.07 percent denial rate for Whites; 46.96 percent denial rate for African Americans and 52.94 percent denial rate for Hispanics.

The community organizations visiting Ruhlen are part of National People's Action (NPA), a 33-year-old multi-ethnic, inter-generational non-partisan coalition of hundreds of local community organizations that volunteer their time to make communities throughout the U.S. safer, healthier and more stable environments.