JPMorgan Chase announced a plan to hire bankers to invest $10 billion into U.S. firms considered vital to national security, economic resilience and the economy. The plan is part of an overall $1.5 trillion pledge.

This move is part a 10-year plan to finance, facilitate and invest in key industries to the growth of U.S. economics, such as defense, energy, and manufacturing. Before the bell, shares of the largest U.S. Bank rose by 1.4%. JPMorgan will invest the $10 billion in direct equity and venture-capital investments. The announcement coincides with the Trump Administration's efforts to modernize infrastructure, reduce dependence on foreign suppliers, and improve supply chains in areas such as pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. The announcement follows U.S. president Donald Trump's criticisms of JPMorgan, its rivals and their so-called debanking clients based on their political or religion beliefs.

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan said: "It is painfully obvious that the United States relies too much on unreliable suppliers of minerals, products, and manufacturing. All of these are vital to our national security." Trump launched a new trade war on Friday against Beijing, ending a fragile truce between two of the world's largest economies. He promised to raise tariffs as a retaliation for China's slashing of rare earths exports.

JPMorgan's new "security initiative" will facilitate investment and financing across four strategic areas: supply chain, manufacturing, defense and aerospace, energy independence and frontier technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computation. According to previously unreleased internal data, the firm had planned to finance and facilitate about $1 trillion in the next decade to support clients in these industries. However, it will increase this amount by 50%.

US PURSUING DEALINGS INVOLVING DOZENS COMPANIES This month, the U.S. Government reported that it is pursuing deals in up to 30 industries involving dozens companies considered critical to national and economic security. JPMorgan, the bank that helped negotiate the government's agreement with U.S. Rare Earths Mining Company MP Materials, stated in a company podcast recently that it was exploring more opportunities with the Trump Administration.

Andrew Castaldo is JPMorgan's co-head for mid-cap mergers & acquisitions. He said, "We have had over 100 conversations with clients about the MP deal and what it means for other industries." "And we have made numerous trips to Washington to explore these opportunities with the government."

Dimon also stressed the need for reforms to policy in order to speed up progress. He cited regulatory delays and challenges with workforce.

He said that the United States needs to invest and speed up.

Four key investment areas

It added that the four main investment areas have been divided up into 27 sub-sectors, ranging from shipbuilding to nuclear energy and nanomaterials. This will cover both middle-market and large corporate clients. The bank will also hire more investment professionals and bankers, and create an external advisory board composed of leaders from the public and private sectors. The newly launched Center for Geopolitics will be used to expand research into supply chain vulnerabilities, emerging technologies and other topics. Reporting by Nupur Aand in New York, Editing by Jamie Freed Lananh Nguyen Mark Porter

(source: Reuters)