The bank plans to finance 1 million affordable housing units and help 500,000 customers buy homes over the next decade
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JPMorgan $JPM Chase announced Monday it intends to deploy more than $750 billion through 2035 to increase housing supply and support homeownership across the United States. That figure represents close to a 40% rise in housing-related capital relative to what the bank deployed over the previous ten years, the company said.
Under the plan, the bank aims to fund 1 million affordable housing units and guide 500,000 customers through the homebuying process, with 200,000 of those being first-time buyers. To hit those targets, the bank intends to grow its mortgage lending volume by over 40% and bring on 850 additional home lending advisors. The firm also said it will introduce new digital tools and explore loan products for modular and manufactured homes.
The initiative is part of JPMorgan Chase's American Dream Initiative, a multi-year effort to expand economic opportunity through targeted investments in local communities. The bank said it will join the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's newly formed Housing Advisory Council as its chair, a role that will focus on shaping housing policy at the local, state, and federal levels.
"An affordable and resilient housing market is essential to driving economic growth and increasing opportunity," said Michelle Herrick, head of commercial real estate for J.P. Morgan, in a statement.
"Homeownership has always been at the heart of the American Dream," said Sean Grzebin, CEO of Chase Home Lending, in a statement. "Our goal is to make the path to homeownership clearer and more accessible for more people, wherever they are in their financial journey."
JPMorgan Chase also outlined a specific housing push in San Francisco, including nearly $200 million in financing for a 342-unit residential building at the waterfront Power Station development. The bank is also making up to a $15 million equity investment in Fifth Space's Essential Housing Fund, which is expected to produce around 250 units in Potrero Hill, and is providing $6 million in new grants to several local housing organizations, the company said.
The announcement also encompasses backing for the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, a law Congress approved in June that streamlines federal environmental review timelines for qualifying housing developments and lifts barriers on manufactured home construction, according to The Wall Street Journal. The law took effect last month despite President Trump's refusal to sign it, according to the Journal.
Monday's housing announcement builds on a series of commitments JPMorgan Chase has made under its American Dream Initiative. The bank has also pledged nearly $80 billion in small-business lending over the next decade and announced plans to double its Community Center branch network in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, which pairs financial services with free educational programming for surrounding communities.
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