Bank of America Pledges $1 Billion to Help Tackle Racial, Economic Inequality
June 03 2020 - 5:45AM
Dow Jones News
By Maitane Sardon
Bank of America Corp. said Tuesday that it will donate $1
billion over four years to help local communities fight economic
and racial inequality, which has been intensified during the
pandemic.
The move comes as companies vow monetary support to help fight
racism after the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in
Minneapolis. Verizon Communications Inc., Facebook Inc., Intel
Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. have all pledged donations to
organizations addressing racial injustice.
"The events of the past week have created a sense of true
urgency that has arisen across our nation, particularly in view of
the racial injustices we have seen in the communities where we work
and live," said Chief Executive Brian Moynihan. "We all need to do
more."
Bank of America said the money will be earmarked toward helping
expand health services with a special focus on communities of
color, supporting minority-owned small businesses and partnerships
with historically black universities and Hispanic-serving
institutions in the U.S.
Bank of America is the latest bank to speak out on racism after
George Floyd's death. Last week, Citigroup Inc.'s Chief Financial
Officer Mark Mason said in a blog post that racial injustice is a
systemic problem that needs to be spoken up about and confronted.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chairman and CEO David Solomon said he is
horrified by the continued attacks against the black community and
urged employees to "acknowledge what is happening" and "speak out
against injustices." JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chairman and CEO
Jamie Dimon also issued a statement condemning racism and
discrimination.
Write to Maitane Sardon at maitane.sardon@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 03, 2020 05:30 ET (09:30 GMT)
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