JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. | Political and electioneering expenditure congruency report at JP Morgan Chase & Co.

Status
29.52% votes in favour
AGM date
Previous AGM date
Proposal number
8
Resolution details
Company ticker
JPM
Lead filer
Undisclosed filer
Resolution ask
Report on or disclose
ESG theme
  • Governance
ESG sub-theme
  • Lobbying / political engagement
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Financials
Company HQ country
United States
Resolved clause
JP Morgan publish an annual report, at reasonable expense, analyzing the congruency of political and electioneering expenditures during the preceding year against publicly stated company values and policies.
Whereas clause
The Public Responsibility Committee of our company’s Board of Directors reviews significant policies and practices regarding political contributions, major lobbying priorities and principal trade association memberships, including their continued relevance to our company’s public policy objectives. The Government Relations and Public Policy (GRPP) group of JP Morgan & Co. (“JP Morgan”) directs our company’s political spending for both the corporate treasury and our political action committees (PACs).
However, some of JP Morgan's politically focused expenditures appear to undermine the company's values and interests.
JP Morgan has affirmed its support for the Paris Climate Accord and sponsors multiple operational and financial initiatives to support a transition to a lower-carbon economy. Our company has implemented exemplary LGBTQ workplace policies and is a recognized friend and ally to that community. Our Women on the Move initiative provides a platform for networking and career development at all levels of the company and is expanding credit and opportunity to female clients and customers as well. Management is working to expand supportive policies to working parents and their families.
However, in contrast to these stated and implied values, JP Morgan has:
•Repeatedly contributed to a 527 organization that has led efforts to prevent enforcement of the EPA's Clean Power Plan;
•Consistently made direct donations to candidates opposing LGBTQ equality, and given more than $185,000 in five recent election cycles (2010 — 2018) to a 527 organization that uses these donations to fund politicians who have attacked LGBTQ equality and also worked to undermine women's reproductive rights;
•Contributed over the last three election cycles (2016 — 2020) at least $2.8 million to anti-choice candidates and political committees from the corporate treasury and company-sponsored political action committees, according to an analysis conducted by the Sustainable Investments Institute.
The GRPP does not provide transparent explanations as to why J.P. Morgan's politically focused expenditures appear to be misaligned with the company's values and interests.
Proponents believe that JP Morgan should establish policies and reporting systems that minimize risk to the firm's reputation and brand by addressing possible missteps in corporate electioneering and political spending that contrast with our company's stated and implied values.
Supporting statement
Proponents recommend that such report also contain management's analysis of risks to our company's brand, reputation, or shareholder value of expenditures in conflict with publicly stated company values. "Expenditures for electioneering communications" means spending, from the corporate treasury and from the PACs, directly or through a third party, at any time during the year, on printed, internet or broadcast communications, which are reasonably susceptible to interpretation as in support of or opposition to a specific candidate.

DISCLAIMER: By including a shareholder resolution or management proposal in this database, neither the PRI nor the sponsor of the resolution or proposal is seeking authority to act as proxy for any shareholder; shareholders should vote their proxies in accordance with their own policies and requirements.

Any voting recommendations set forth in the descriptions of the resolutions and management proposals included in this database are made by the sponsors of those resolutions and proposals, and do not represent the views of the PRI.

Information on the shareholder resolutions, management proposals and votes in this database have been obtained from sources that are believed to be reliable, but the PRI does not represent that it is accurate, complete, or up-to-date, including information relating to resolutions and management proposals, other signatories’ vote pre-declarations (including voting rationales), or the current status of a resolution or proposal. You should consult companies’ proxy statements for complete information on all matters to be voted on at a meeting.