(Bloomberg) – Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. plan to pause all political contributions, joining a growing list of companies that are changing or revising their donation policies after past riots in the Capitol week.
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A person wearing a protective mask enters the JPMorgan Chase & Co. headquarters in New York, USA, on Monday, September 21, 2020. Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan, advocated a broader return, saying his company saw ” alienation “among younger workers and that a long period of working at home can bring long-term economic and social damage.
Goldman is still formulating its measures that are likely to reduce future political donations to elected leaders who struggled to overturn the 2020 outcome. A company representative confirmed the plan. JPMorgan, the largest US bank in assets, said it is planning a six-month suspension for Republicans and Democrats. Citigroup said it plans to temporarily halt all political contributions in the current quarter.
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“We want you to be sure that we will not support candidates who do not respect the rule of law,” said Candi Wolff, head of global government affairs at Citi, in a memo to employees.
The bank action followed an earlier announcement by Marriott International Inc., which said it would suspend donations to Republican senators who voted against President-elect Joe Biden’s certification after considering “destructive events” on Wednesday.
The hotel giant was one of the first corporate donors to announce the breaking of financial ties with lawmakers after the Capitol riot by supporters of President Donald Trump. While much of corporate America quickly condemned the violence, few companies have publicly pledged to cut financial support to elected officials who supported Trump’s baseless allegations of electoral fraud.
“We take into account the destructive events on Capitol Hill to undermine a legitimate and fair election and will stop political donations from our Political Action Committee to those who voted against certification of the election,” said a Marriott spokesman.
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Marriott’s decision was first reported by Popular Information, a political bulletin that polled 144 corporate donors about its donation plans for the eight Republican senators who opposed electoral certification.
The event last week sparked a backlash against politicians, including Missouri senator Josh Hawley, who supported allegations of fraud and was seen greeting protesters with a fist swipe before breaking into the Capitol. Citi’s Wolff said the bank donated $ 1,000 for its 2019 campaign, adding that it represents a state where it has a considerable employee presence.
Peter Scher, JPMorgan’s head of corporate responsibility, said that the focus of business, political and civic leaders now must be to govern and get help for those in need. “There will be a lot of time to campaign later,” Scher said in a statement on Sunday. His comment echoed that of CEO Jamie Dimon, who joined other bosses at Wall Street’s biggest companies calling for an end to the violence on Capitol Hill last week.
Marriott is closely linked to Utah Senator Mitt Romney, a former board member and Trump’s vocal critic. Romney’s connection to Marriott predates his service on the board: his name, Willard, was named after J. Willard Marriott, a friend of the 2012 Republican presidential candidate’s father and founder of the hotel company.
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, an insurance chain, and owner of Commerce Bank, Commerce Bancshares Inc., also told Popular Information that it is suspending all support for lawmakers who have contested the results of the Electoral College.
Stopping an oath to suspend donations, Bank of America Corp., Ford Motor Co. and AT&T Inc. said they would take recent events into consideration before any future donations. CVS Health Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. and some other donors said they are reviewing their policies on political donations.
(Adds Wells Fargo & Co. in the last paragraph)
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