JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon pi’s expected to visit Africa in mid-October in a push by the biggest US lender to expand on the continent, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, his first trip in seven years. Dimon is expected to visit Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Cote d'Ivoire during the trip next month, two of the sources said. JPMorgan already has offices in South Africa and Nigeria where it offers asset and wealth management and well as commercial and investment banking services. Overseas markets have been a key focus area to generate growth for JPMorgan — which has assets of over $4.1 trillion and operations in more than 100 countries. In 2018, Dimon said the lender would look at entering Ghana and Kenya. Local regulators in the two countries had blocked JPMorgan's growth plans, according to media reports. Kenyan President William Ruto said in February 2023 after a meeting with a senior JPMorgan executive that the bank had committed to opening a new office in Nairobi. It was not immediately clear how close JPMorgan is to opening in these countries. JPMorgan is among the top five international private banks by assets under supervision and growth in overseas markets is a key priority, it said in May. In the last five years, about 700 bankers have been involved in expanding into 27 new locations worldwide, generating $2 billion in revenue for its commercial and investment bank, JPMorgan's President Daniel Pinto told investors in May. JPMorgan has an advisory board of international executives and former policy makers that have links to Africa, including Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair who founded the Africa Governance Initiative.
