Kanye West: JP Morgan Chase cuts ties with rapper

US banking giant JP Morgan Chase is ending its relationship with the rapper and designer Kanye West, who now goes by the name Ye, and his Yeezy brand.

A letter from the bank informing Mr West of the decision was posted on Twitter by a conservative commentator.

At the weekend, his Twitter and Instagram accounts were suspended after he posted anti-Semitic messages.

The BBC understands the letter from JP Morgan pre-dated recent controversies, as it was sent on 20 September.

In the letter the bank gave Mr West until 21 November to transfer his business.

JP Morgan Chase declined to comment.

Mr West had previously taken to social media to criticise JP Morgan’s leadership and said they would not give him access to the bank’s chief executive Jamie Dimon.

He told Bloomberg in September that he was severing ties with his corporate partners and that “it’s time for me to go it alone”.

Representatives for Mr West did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the BBC.

The move by JP Morgan comes as Mr West’s business partnerships have come under increased scrutiny.

Last week, sportswear firm Adidas said it was reviewing its deal with him days after he showed a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt design at Paris Fashion Week.

The company did not mention the controversy but said “successful partnerships are rooted in mutual respect and shared values”.

Mr West responded on Instagram, claiming the firm “stole” his designs. That post now appears to have been deleted.

Adidas told the BBC it had made the decision to put the partnership under review after “repeated efforts to privately resolve the situation.”

A spokesperson for the German sportswear company also said that the “Adidas Yeezy partnership is one of the most successful collaborations in our industry’s history.”

Last month, Mr West said he was ending his partnership with the retailer Gap.

He accused the firm of failing to honour terms of the deal, including by failing to open standalone stores for his Yeezy fashion label. – bbc.com