JPMorgan puts $24 million toward U.S. shipbuilding push
Jamie Dimon said the funding will support submarine production, maritime small businesses and suppliers tied to U.S. security needs.
By Maya Lindqvist · Senior Technology Correspondent
2 min read
JPMorgan Chase is committing $24 million to support U.S. shipbuilding, including financing tied to a submarine manufacturing site at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. The move matters because the bank is linking private capital to industries it says are central to U.S. economic and national security.
JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon announced the effort Wednesday, CNBC reported. The funding is part of the bank’s broader $1.5 trillion security initiative, which JPMorgan has said is aimed at financing sectors it views as critical to the country’s industrial base and security position.
The $24 million package includes $18 million in loans and investments and $6 million in grants, JPMorgan said, according to CNBC. The money will help finance a new submarine manufacturing facility being developed by Rhoads Industries at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, expand lending to small businesses connected to the maritime sector and support regional suppliers.
“The arsenal of democracy has been reignited,” Dimon told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin.
Dimon pointed to shipbuilding activity at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in the CNBC interview. He cited Hanwha, the South Korean conglomerate that has a U.S. shipbuilding subsidiary, as part of the activity there.
Part of a larger security finance plan
JPMorgan launched the $1.5 trillion program last year, CNBC reported. The bank has included shipbuilding among the industries covered by the initiative, along with other sectors it considers important to U.S. economic and national security.
CNBC reported that JPMorgan expanded the program into Europe this year. The bank’s latest announcement keeps the focus on manufacturing capacity in the United States, with the Philadelphia Navy Yard serving as a focal point for the shipbuilding effort.
The timing comes as governments are putting more attention on defense production and domestic industrial capacity, CNBC reported, citing geopolitical tensions that include wars in the Middle East and Ukraine. Dimon’s announcement framed the bank’s role as one of providing financing and grants to parts of the shipbuilding supply chain rather than only to large contractors.
Rhoads Industries is building the submarine manufacturing facility that will receive support through the package, JPMorgan said. The bank also said the money will be used to expand lending to maritime-related small businesses and strengthen suppliers in the region.
The announcement adds another piece to JPMorgan’s effort to direct capital toward industries it says are tied to national resilience. Dimon has positioned the security initiative as a long-term financing push, and the shipbuilding commitment gives it a specific project in one of the country’s historic naval production hubs.
This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.