“It’s not culturally common for us to work with foundations and NGOS--we’re a bank,” said Matthew Arnold, the Global Head of Sustainable Finance for JPMorgan Chase, which handles US$2 trillion in assets.
He was speaking in Seattle on Nov. 2, during a breakfast panel with Paul Moseley, Program Officer, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Steve Hollingworth, President and CEO of Grameen Foundation. So, perhaps it was a trio of unlikely bedfellows--but perhaps not.
The panel, hosted by Global Washington and the Seattle World Affairs Council, was focused on the topic of financing sustainable agriculture. It drew a full house, and the conversation had even more kick than the early morning coffee as panelists and audience considered what it will take to make a difference for food security and the world’s 500 million smallholder farmer households.
