American Banker: Chase Aids Illegal Logging

Environmental groups said Thursday that JPMorgan Chase & Co. is supporting logging that is harming rain forests in Indonesia.

Greenpeace and the Rainforest Action Network said that one of the New York banking company's customers, the building products distributor BlueLinx Holding Inc., is "smuggling legally disputed, undocumented timber out of Indonesia's critically endangered rain forests."

The groups, which held a press conference to highlight their allegations, said BlueLinx has a $165 million credit line with JPMorgan Chase. The groups called on both companies to join a voluntary embargo on Indonesian forest products that has been joined by Centex Corp., International Paper Co., and Lanoga Corp.

A JPMorgan Chase spokesman, Brian J. Marchioni, would not discuss the allegations. Chris Witty, a spokesman for BlueLinx, did not respond to a phone call and an e-mail asking for comment.

Rainforest Action Network attacked JPMorgan Chase in a November advertising campaign for failing to set conservation policies, including environmentally friendly lending practices. The banking company has said it plans to have a comprehensive policy in place in April, and Mr. Marchioni said Thursday that the plan has not changed.

The groups said U.S. Customs and Border Protection documents demonstrate that BlueLinx is knowingly purchasing from eight Indonesian mills that have histories of illegal timber trafficking, according to the Indonesian Department of Forestry.

Ilyse Hogue, the director of Rainforest Action Network's global finance campaign, said on a conference call with reporters Thursday that the group has been in touch with other banking companies with ties to BlueLinx, including Bank of America Corp.