JPMorgan Chase, an American international financial firm, has recently been granted a license to operate in Kenya. This move is part of the company’s strategy to expand its presence in Africa. Additionally, the U.S. lender plans to establish itself in Ivory Coast.
With $4.3 trillion in assets, JPMorgan Chase currently operates in 100 countries, with few of them being in Africa.
In a phone call with Reuters in New York, the company’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, revealed that he would soon be travelling to Africa. His itinerary includes visits to Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa.
“We want to add a country or two (enter or deepen presence) in Africa, every couple of years or so,” he stated.
“This will allow us to be on the ground in these countries which gives you a lot more local knowledge and relationships.
“And when you do it, you basically will cover the government, maybe some big government enterprises and the multinationals that are going in there with traditional banking services,” he added.”
The CEO mentioned that when the bank’s operations in Kenya and Ivory Coast are set up, they will focus on commercial banking and investment services, with the possibility of also offering loans.
He stated that the company currently has no immediate plans to offer asset and wealth management (AWM) services in those two markets. It’s worth noting that these services are currently available in Nigeria and South Africa.
“We are not doing AWM now but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen in the next few years,” he said.
In the past, “the U.S. government was not very keen on banks expanding into different geographies, as this was just after the financial crisis,” he added, lauding the U.S.’s decision to become more supportive of global expansion.
On Monday, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) announced in a statement that it had authorised JPMorgan Chase to establish a representative office in Kenya.
“The JPMorgan Chase bank representative office Kenya will contribute to the diversity of Kenya’s financial sector and catalyse trade and investment,” the statement read.
“Additionally, the authorisation of the Representative Office affirms Kenya’s standing as a premier financial service hub,” it added.