American Bank, JP Morgan, is planning to transform its representative office in Lagos into a fully-fledged business branch.
According to a report on Africa Intelligence, the move is in line with its Chief Executive Officer, Jamie Dimon’s strategy to strengthen its presence in Africa.
From its Lagos office, JP Morgan provides clients with products and services from across our Asset & Wealth Management and Commercial & Investment Bank lines of business.
Last year, JP Morgan opened representative offices in Kenya and Côte d’Ivoire as part of an effort to expand in East and West Africa.
During his trip to Nigeria last October, Dimon said that he had plans to expand into Africa after the 2008 financial crash, but that he had been prevented from doing so by the US government.
“They said banks were risky and didn’t want to add any risks. They were wrong,” he said.
Back in 2018, JPMorgan also tried to secure licences to offer banking services in Ghana and Kenya, without success.
Regarding the latest development, Africa Intelligence said that JP Morgan managed in Nigeria by Dapo Olagunju will apply to the Central Bank of Nigeria for a merchant banking licence in the coming months.
If successful, this new US-Nigeria entity will be able to offer FX-denominated loans to large companies in addition to its advisory and asset management activities.
During Dimon’s visit, he met the CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso and attended the 30th anniversary of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, where he shared insight on global markets, financial innovation, and what it takes to drive sustainable economic growth in Nigeria and beyond.
