JP Morgan, the largest bank in the United States and the world’s sixth-largest bank by total assets, has announced opening of a regional office in Nairobi. According to Kenyan media, the move has been hailed by Kenya’s President William Ruto as a vote for Kenya’s emerging success in the global marketplace.
He stated on Twitter that this was a vote for Kenya’s emerging success in the global marketplace and a sign of confidence in Kenya’s economy.
President Ruto recently met with Daniel Zelikow, the Vice-Chairman and Global Head of JP Morgan Public Sector Group in Nairobi, and discussed revising development financing to be more responsive to climate change.
Ruto stated, “We welcome the firm’s expertise in environmental risks that will help Kenya to confront the climate change crisis sustainably.”
Furthermore, the bank also expressed its commitment to serving the needs of its clients while helping to drive sustainable economic growth in the region.
JP Morgan’s decision to set up a regional office in Nairobi comes after the bank’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, announced in 2018 that the bank had hired a special team of bankers to help coordinate and expand the bank’s relationships in Kenya and Ghana.
According to Jamie Dimon, the CEO of J.P. Morgan, the bank has always intended to increase its footprint in Africa by entering nations like Ghana and Kenya in 2018, however, at the time, local regulators obstructed such ambitions.
The new regional office in Nairobi will serve as a hub for JP Morgan’s operations in East Africa, and the bank has stated its intention to serve the country, all US multinationals going in, the wealth funds, and universities. The move is part of JP Morgan’s strategy to expand its services globally. The bank already has offices in South Africa and Nigeria.