JPMorgan relaxes loan rules to tap wealth from SpaceX and AI IPOs

JPMorgan Chase, the United States’ largest bank, is easing its long-standing policy that prevents clients from pledging shares of newly listed companies as loan collateral for the first 135 days after a listing. In preparation for SpaceX’s high-profile IPO in June, the firm instructed its banking units to permit borrowing against equity in Elon Musk’s aerospace and AI venture well before that period. The bank generated $75 million in fees from its advisory role in the SpaceX debut and anticipates offering comparable lending terms when Anthropic, creator of Claude, goes public, though no final policy has been set.

Federal rules require a 30-day pause for broker-dealers, but JPMorgan’s internal waiting period has been stricter than that baseline. Competitors like Goldman Sachs usually adhere only to the statutory 30-day limit. JPMorgan says its formal policies remain unchanged, with each loan evaluated on liquidity and volatility considerations. The move reflects a broader push by wealth managers to serve tech employees who receive large stock-based compensation and seek liquidity without triggering capital-gains taxes.