JPMorgan donates $1M to charities helping furloughed government workers

JPMorgan Chase will donate $1 million to charities that are assisting families impacted by the partial government shutdown.

The $2.6 trillion-asset company said it had committed funds to Feeding America and United Way Worldwide. The charities are providing provide meals, financial services, counseling and other assistance.

“We want a reasonable solution to the shutdown and want to see it end immediately,” Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase's chairman and CEO, said in a letter Friday morning to the company’s employees. “In the meantime, we continue to serve those in need.”

Dimon said JPMorgan will match its employees’ donations to those organizations and “make volunteer opportunities available for employees who wish to support these and other organizations stepping up.”

JPMorgan is one of several banks and credit unions that have publicly announced plans to assist federal workers furloughed by the shutdown. Many of them have waived overdraft fees, canceled minimum monthly payments and offered low- or zero-rate short-term loans. Government employees affected by the shutdown missed their second paycheck this week.

The shutdown has also had an impact on banks’ business. The $109 billion-asset Huntington Bancshares said it will soon stop making Small Business Administration loans because it cannot obtain necessary SBA data.

“We can’t close loans without SBA loan numbers,” Stephen Steinour, Huntington's chairman and CEO, said Thursday.

Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg