In an effort by the largest U.S. lender to grow on the continent, CEO Jamie Dimon intends to visit Africa in mid-October.
This will be his first visit to the continent in seven years.
Dimon’s itinerary for the trip next month includes stops in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and the Ivory Coast.
JPMorgan now provides commercial and investment banking services, as well as asset and wealth management out of its locations in South Africa and Nigeria.
With operations in more than 100 countries and assets of over $4.1 trillion, JPMorgan has made overseas markets a primary area of focus to spur growth.
Laptops 1000In 2018, Dimon stated that the lender might consider expanding into Kenya and Ghana. According to media reports, local officials in those two nations had thwarted JPMorgan’s growth plans.
Following a meeting with a senior JPMorgan official, Kenyan President William Ruto stated in February 2023 that the bank had promised to open a new office in Nairobi.
How soon JPMorgan will open in these nations was not immediately apparent.
According to analysts, major international banks are vying for a larger portion of the continent’s sovereign debt and corporate transactions.
Eric Musau, head of research at Standard Investment Bank in Nairobi, stated that the banks also hope to serve more foreign businesses operating in the continent.
According to Musau, wealth management services that give clients access to investments like loans, mutual funds, and offshore equities are one way that foreign lenders are trying to increase their income.
Large financial institutions are attempting to set themselves apart from the local and regional lenders that are common in retail markets by introducing private banking services.
Private banking “is where the next evolution will be,” according to Francis Mwangi, CEO of Nairobi brokerage Kestrel Capital, even if the majority of people on the continent can access financial services through local and regional commercial banks.
