Three of Wall Street's biggest names helped a Chinese battery manufacturer raise billions from global investors, months after the Pentagon labeled the company a "Chinese military firm." Congress wants answers.
A new report from the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party alleges JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America served as book-runners for CATL's Hong Kong secondary listing, which raised approximately $5.2 billion in May 2025. Morgan Stanley reportedly participated in a subsequent offering. This happened after the US Department of Defense designated CATL under its Section 1260H list of Chinese military-linked firms on January 7, 2025.
On April 17, 2025, House Select Committee Chairman John Moolenaar urged JPMorgan and Bank of America to withdraw from the IPO, citing national security risks tied to CATL's supply-chain connections with the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.
The banks proceeded anyway. By July 2025, subpoenas were issued to both firms after they failed to comply with document requests regarding their due diligence on the deal.
CATL, or Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited, is the world's dominant EV battery manufacturer, supplying Tesla, BMW, Hyundai, and Ford. The Section 1260H designation doesn't technically ban US banks from doing business with listed companies, but the investigation could reshape how Wall Street approaches deals involving Chinese military-linked firms.