JPMorgan Chase

The new order is the strongest move yet by a U.S. bank to require employees to return to the workplace.

The bank discovered the actions, all of which were tied to the SBA's Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, after noticing that suspicious amounts of money had been deposited into checking accounts owned by bank employees, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

The bank said the conduct includes “instances of customers misusing Paycheck Protection Program Loans, unemployment benefits and other government programs.”

The move is part of the effort by banks and other companies to promote racial equity and be more sensitive to the stresses on front-line employees.

Capital One Financial is reining in credit lines to reduce its exposure while the nation’s largest card issuer, JPMorgan Chase, is rolling out a new card designed for travelers and diners.

Visa and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are in the middle of a 10-year merchant services agreement that gives Chase merchants certain advantages with the expected goal of favoring Visa card volume. But it’s not an exclusive arrangement.

Bankers have long opposed the idea of the U.S. Postal Service taking deposits and making loans directly, but some in the industry are open to the idea of letting banks and credit unions offer services at post offices.

If the U.S. Postal Service can hold talks with big banks, like JPMorgan Chase, about offering financial services in post offices, then it could easily strike up similar conversations with credit unions.

The bank will outsource future development of Quorum to the software firm.

If Congress wants to provide better access to banking services for low-income and rural Americans, it would be wise to consider financial services partners that operate under a not-for-profit model.