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Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, the largest U.S. bank, is set to make his first Africa visit in seven years next month, according to a person familiar with the plans.
Dimon will visit Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa around mid-October. Reuters previously reported on Tuesday that he would also visit Côte d’Ivoire, but that has not been confirmed, according to Semafor Africa’s source.
While on the continent, Dimon will meet with clients, government officials, and bank executives on the ground. The gap since his last visit in 2017 was blamed on disruption caused by the global pandemic. The bank, which manages more than $4 trillion in assets, is unlikely to pursue a mergers and acquisitions strategy to expand on the continent and will more than likely continue its approach of building a client base organically, said the person who described the sub-region as an “amazing growth opportunity.”
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JP Morgan currently has sub-Saharan Africa offices in Johannesburg, where it has some 200 staffers, Cape Town, and Lagos. Last year it was widely reported that JP Morgan had plans to open up in Kenya but those plans appear to be unclear for the near future, said the source. Dimon had previously highlighted Kenya and Ghana as potential markets for expansion on the continent back in 2018, but those ambitions have yet to be fulfilled as the bank has faced regulatory hurdles in these markets.
Despite the difficult post-COVID economic recovery in many African countries, JPMorgan is said to still see African markets as having huge potential as it seeks growth by offering services in asset management, payments, commercial, and investment banking services. In these markets, its clients are often a mix of national governments and financial institutions, said another person who has worked closely with the bank there.
Ultimately, sub-Saharan Africa is a slim slice of JP Morgan’s global business and is folded under its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) division.
