JPMorgan Chase, America’s largest bank, has just agreed to invest in Ukraine to the tune of up to $30 billion. Officials from the bank met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and members of misgovernment Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine, to discuss the deal. “I understand very well that doing business and investing cannot be beneficial to only one party. We want you to invest in Ukraine and earn money,” Zelensky said.
JPMorgan Chase stated that it is proud to support the country and is committed to doing so. The two parties held an online meeting with 200 investors, financial institutions, and corporations to discuss the practicalities and to create a mechanism for investment in renewable energy, as well as technology. The idea of creating a specific bank, that would be administered on Wall Street and focus on investments in the infrastructure of Ukraine was also discussed. The Eastern European country’s infrastructure, including bridges, roads, and oil refineries, has been severely damaged in the war with Russia that has been raging since February 2022.
The CEO of JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, has previously said that his bank will take a huge financial hit by winding down its interests in Russia. He warned that the war will have implications for the global economy for years to come. In a letter to shareholders, Dimon wrote that this was the first time he had ever had to communicate JPMorgan’s potential losses. He added that the European Economy would experience slowing growth in the coming years due to energy crises and described Europe as “heavily dependent” on Russian oil and gas. An economic slowdown in Europe will have a knock-on effect in the United States, which would also see a reduction in growth.
The US banking giant is one of several financial institutions to end or limit ties with Russia since the war began. Combined with government sanctions, the aim is to reduce Russia’s access to the global economy.
