Bank sets sights on Africa to gain from its growth
JPMorgan not deterred by entry refusals
JAMIE Dimon, the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, which has offices in South Africa and Nigeria, said the bank wanted a presence in more African countries to spur growth, even after regulators in Ghana and Kenya refused the lender entry.
“We’ll hopefully start opening branches again in Africa,” Dimon said on Monday. “I’m not doing that because it’s going to affect earnings in the next couple of years. I’m doing that because it forms the base for the next generation.”
JPMorgan joins banks, such as Barclays, BNP Paribas and Citigroup, that have added operations in Africa to gain from the continent’s economic growth.
Sub-Saharan Africa is forecast to grow 3.8 percent this year and 4.3 percent next year, making it one of the fastestexpanding regions, an International Monetary Fund report released on October 6 shows.
JPMorgan was refused entry by regulators in Ghana and Kenya in the past two years, according to Dimon, who said the New York-based lender would get around these obstacles by banking multinational companies and the biggest institutions in those markets.
This was how the bank would build for the future and “win”, he said.
JPMorgan managed the Kenyan government’s debut $2 billion (R26bn) eurobond sale last year and, along with Citigroup, is financing planes for Kenya Airways.
In Ghana, JPMorgan had financed government power plants among other large-scale projects, he said.
“We’re not doing retail,” Dimon said. “We’re not doing stuff like that.
“So I would say it’s rather low risk. We’re going to do a bunch of things and serve the clients who already want us to be there.” – Bloomberg