By Carla Thomas

On Dec. 8, JPMorgan Chase & Co. celebrated the grand opening of an innovative bank branch experience in downtown Oakland.

With a mission to help more Black and Latino start-ups and small businesses, the new Community Center branch will provide Oakland residents with financial tools and resources, including access to funding, mentoring and pop-up space for entrepreneurs.

Located at 3005 Broadway, the site is the first of its kind in Northern California, and only one of 12 among Chase’s nearly 5,000 branches nationwide.

“This is all about Oakland,” said branch manager Latanya Millican, who has served Chase for nearly 30 years. “This is a celebration of reaching our community with resources beyond traditional banking. At our branch, clients will be welcomed with opportunities to launch their business, expand their business, and secure closing costs on homes in addition to our traditional banking services.”

During the ribbon cutting ceremony before an audience of about 40 people, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon addressed executive staff members of Chase from various regions in California along with local staff and community members.

For Dimon, community banks represent the changes he hopes to see in the world for future generations. Dimon also said the George Floyd murder and the pandemic shed light on the racial disparities in communities of color. “Disparities are not something we were unaware of, but it did spotlight the need to do more.”

For Dimon, ‘more’ includes offering $5,000 homebuyer grants to help cover closing costs and down payments and increasing affordable housing and home ownership by providing $300 million in construction, permanent loans, and low-income housing tax credits over the past five years.

In 2020, the company committed to a $75 million, five-year investment in Oakland and San Francisco through long-term, low-cost loans and philanthropy to provide more affordable housing, and protect local residents from displacement.

“Our firm has committed $30 billion to advance racial equity and drive economic opportunities for Black, Latino and Hispanic communities, and the new centers are designed to accelerate minority, small-business growth in the country,” said Dimon.

“He’s like the modern-day Robin Hood,” said Betty Uribe, head of retail for California at Chase in describing Dimon.

Chase has also supported local organizations like the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC) and The Unity Council and their mission of preserving affordable housing in Oakland neighborhoods with a $35 million loan through the Housing for Health Fund.

“We’re putting our communities first and this new hub will serve as a place where dreams are going to be hatched and brought to fruition,” Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said.

“After collaborating with my Chase Senior Business Consultant Nykole Prevost, myself and our director of operations were able to identify areas where the business can really impact our local communities on a faster timeline then we originally envisioned,” Derrick Hill, founder and president of Hill & Quality Associates, LLC, said.

Attendees also included Chase associates September Hargrove, Northern California director for Community Banking at JPMorgan Chase & Co.; Jonathan Morales, head of Community and Business Development for Chase in California; Nykole Prevost, senior business consultant, at Chase and Ben Walter, Chase Business Banking CEO.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post