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JPMorgan Chase will take stakes in companies totaling up to $10 billion to help finance growth in areas it considers critical to American security.
The investment plans are part of a broader ten-year initiative that JPMorgan announced on Monday, with which it aims to facilitate and finance $1.5 trillion in so-called critical industries.
“It has become painfully clear that the US has made itself overly dependent on unreliable sources of critical minerals, products and manufacturing – all of which are essential to our national security,” said Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan.
“This new initiative includes efforts such as ensuring reliable access to life-saving medicines and critical minerals, defending our nation, building energy systems to meet AI-powered demand, and advancing technologies such as semiconductors and data centers,” Dimon added.
JPMorgan said it will focus on four themes critical to national security and infrastructure: supply chains and advanced manufacturing, defense and space, energy independence and resilience, and frontier and strategic technologies.
The $10 billion in investments will consist of the bank’s own resources and will mainly go to companies in the US.
On the broader $1.5 trillion target, the bank said it was already planning to facilitate and finance around $1 trillion over the next decade to support customers in these key sectors, and was aiming to increase that amount by 50 percent.
While there is no mention of Trump, JPMorgan’s stated goal will likely call on the White House policy agenda to ensure that existing and emerging critical infrastructure and technology are in place in the US.
Rare earth minerals are an example of an industry that has given Beijing leverage over the US in trade negotiations due to the dominance of Chinese industry.
Dimon is one of the most influential voices on Wall Street and regularly makes his patriotism known in public comments.
Banks have historically set huge funding targets in line with government policy, including JPMorgan announcing in 2021 that it wanted to commit more than $2.5 trillion over the next decade to advance solutions that tackle climate change.
