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JPMorgan Chase is in talks to provide banking services to the Board of Peace, the US-led institution tasked with rebuilding Gaza that Donald Trump is seeking to position as a rival to the UN, according to people familiar with the discussions.
The Board of Peace was originally conceived as part of the US president’s push to create a new governance framework for Gaza in the wake of the devastating two-year war between Israel and Hamas in the Palestinian enclave.
But the US president has increasingly sought to present it as an alternative to the UN, writing on Truth Social this month that the board’s founding members had set out a vision for civilians in the Palestinian enclave, “and then, ultimately far beyond Gaza — WORLD PEACE”.
JPMorgan declined to comment on its interactions with the new entity, which was backed by a UN Security Council resolution at the end of last year in the wake of a US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza.
But two people familiar with the situation said the bank was discussing providing services such as facilitating payments to and from the board.
Relations between the Trump administration and JPMorgan, the largest US bank with more than $4tn in assets, are complicated by a lawsuit filed last month by the US president against the company and chief executive Jamie Dimon. Trump claims the lender closed his bank accounts for political reasons.
But Dimon has also pursued policies in line with Trump’s America First agenda, including a goal to facilitate and finance $1.5tn in industries deemed critical to US national security and infrastructure.
An administration official declined to comment on any discussions with JPMorgan, saying that there is “nothing to announce at this time”, but added that the administration is “exploring all options that can help us get assistance to Gaza as efficiently and effectively as possible”.
So far, around two dozen countries have agreed to join in the Board of Peace, which will be chaired by Trump, and financed by contributions from member states — with countries that pledge at least $1bn within the first year granted permanent, rather than the standard three-year, membership.
Beneath the top level of the board, which will consist of member states, Trump has established an executive board, which includes key aides such as Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, as well as former UK prime minister Tony Blair and Nickolay Mladenov, a former Bulgarian defence minister and UN envoy who has also been appointed high representative for Gaza.
Under the Board of Peace’s charter, the executive board is responsible for “the institution of controls and oversight mechanisms with respect to budgets, financial accounts, and disbursements, as necessary or appropriate to ensure their integrity”.
A 14-member body of Palestinian technocrats responsible for day-to-day governance of the territory, called the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, has been established to work under the executive board.
The Board of Peace was unveiled in Davos last month and is due to meet again in Washington on Thursday.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said Trump would announce at the meeting that “member states have pledged more than $5bn towards the Gaza humanitarian and reconstruction efforts”.
Asked about funding for Gaza at the Munich Security Conference last week, Mladenov said a “number of instruments” existed, and that a “World Bank trust fund is being created to manage assistance for Gaza” which would initially focus on humanitarian aid, emergency recovery and security.
Speaking at Davos last month, Kushner presented an ambitious plan for a rebuilt “New Gaza” with rendered images of futuristic towers and other modern infrastructure he said would require some $30bn in investments.