JPMorgan, BofA CEOs Subpoenaed Over Chinese Battery Giant CATL’s Hong Kong IPO: 'Should Not Be Helping Beijing Bankroll Abuse'

U.S. lawmakers issued subpoenas on Wednesday to the chief executives of JPMorgan & Chase (JPM) and Bank of America (BAC) for their roles in the initial public offering of Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL) in Hong Kong.

The House of Representatives’ Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party asked the banks to submit documents related to the public listing of the Chinese heavyweight, according to a post on X.

“Wall Street should not be helping Beijing bankroll abuse,” the committee wrote. CATL, which manufactures batteries for companies such as Tesla, was added to the Department of Defense's watchlist in January for its alleged ties to the Chinese military.

Earlier in April, the Republican Chairman of the committee, John Moolenaar warned U.S. banks to withdraw from the listing process, as it would expose them and their American investors to “significant regulatory, financial and reputational risks.”

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon defended the move in May, saying that the bank was following due diligence and that the U.S. had not imposed any sanctions. “If we thought it was wrong, we wouldn’t do it,” he said back then.

According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the development, Bank of America said on Wednesday that it would continue to engage with the committee.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits about JPMorgan was in the ‘bearish’ territory, while traders were ‘neutral’ about Bank of America.

CATL had raised $5.2 billion in its Hong Kong listing in May. The company had noted in its prospectus that its inclusion in the Pentagon blacklist was a mistake, and it was working with the DoD to address the “false designation.”

“It does not restrict us from conducting business with entities other than a small number of U.S. governmental authorities, thus [it] is expected to have no substantial adverse impact on our business,” CATL said in the prospectus.

The House Committee had also warned in April that Chinese AI firm DeepSeek was a “profound threat” to U.S. national security.

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