Weekly Global News Wrap: JPMorgan gives out $30b in loans for US SMEs; Citi pilots ESG unit

And Westpac admits to money laundering breaches.

From Reuters:

JPMorgan has given out more than $30b in loans to over 250,000 businesses as part of the US coronavirus aid program for small businesses, CEO Jamie Dimon said in a memo on 19 May.

The largest US bank approved more than $45b in new credit for its clients impacted by the pandemic in March and April, Dimon said.

He added that the size of the average loan under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was $122,000 and half of the loans went to companies with fewer than five employees.

From Reuters:

Citigroup is launching a new business unit within its corporate and investment bank dedicated to environmental sustainability.

Its Sustainability & Corporate Transitions group will be led by Banking, Capital Markets and Advisory (BCMA) chief strategy officer Bridget Fawcett and Keith Tuffley, who has led the unit’s sustainability efforts so far.

Companies have become more focused on ESG factors in recent years as activists and investors put pressure on them and companies that put these considerations at the forefront are rewarded.

From Reuters:

Westpac has admitted to breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism laws in a filing in Australia’s Federal Court on Friday, but denied accusations it enabled illegal payments between known child sex offenders.

In its defence filing, the bank admitted it had failed to correctly report various international transfers of funds as required by law, adding that it accepted the gravity of the issues raised by the regulator AUSTRAC.

The lender has already set aside $580m (A$900m) for an expected fine from the case.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.