JPMorgan Chase, the worlds largest bank by market capitalisation, recently announced ambitious plans to expand the companys footprint in Africa, in a move that an analyst says is a massive show of confidence in African banking markets.
Jamie Dimon, CEO of the American lender, travelled to Africa in October, his first trip to the continent in seven years. The trip came shortly after it was confirmed that JPMorgan had secured licences to open new offices in Nairobi and Abidjan. Dimon also visited JPMorgans existing African offices in South Africa and Nigeria, where the investment bank offers a range of commercial and investment banking services, as well as asset and wealth management.
JPMorgan has been steadily increasing its exposure to the African market in recent years, despite facing difficulties from regulators both in the United States and in Africa.
Speaking in Abuja earlier this month, 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 didnt 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.
New partnershipsNonetheless, JPMorgan has continued to invest in African markets. In South Africa, for example, JPMorgan has been steadily building its stake in Capitec, the countrys largest retail bank, and is now one of the lenders biggest single shareholders, owning 8.37 of the group.
