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Finance

Banks Snared in Race Conversation, Confronted by Bleak Legacy

  • Financial chiefs have raced to condemn racism and inequality
  • Yet banks’ history, weak diversity and lobbying draw criticism
Jamie Dimon visits a branch in Mount Kisco, New York, on June 5.
Jamie Dimon visits a branch in Mount Kisco, New York, on June 5.

A picture of JPMorgan Chase & Co. chief Jamie Dimon kneeling in a bank branch, seen across the industry as opposing the mistreatment of Black Americans, is doing little to win over activists.

On Friday, about 100 protesters amassed outside his firm’s tower in midtown Manhattan, where an organizer with a bullhorn led the crowd in a call-and-response: “JPMorgan -- Shut it down! JPMorgan -- Shut it down!”