American banking giant JP Morgan is set to convert its Lagos representative office into a full-fledged business branch as part of its broader strategy to expand operations across Africa.
According to a report by African Intelligence on March 31, the U.S. bank plans to apply for a merchant banking license from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in the coming months.
At the time of filing this report, JP Morgan had not responded to TheCable‘s inquiry regarding the transformation.
The New York-based financial institution, led in Nigeria by Dayo Olagunju, JP Morgan’s head of West Africa, aims to expand its service offerings beyond advisory and asset management to include dollar-denominated loans for large corporations.
In January, a JP Morgan delegation, led by Olagunju, visited Nigeria and held discussions with Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance. The finance ministry stated that the visit was part of an exploratory mission involving international institutional investors seeking insights into Nigeria’s economic landscape.
JP Morgan’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, previously expressed his intention to strengthen the bank’s footprint in Africa, telling Reuters in October 2024 that the institution plans to expand into additional countries every few years.
JP Morgan, which has been active in Nigeria since the 1980s, also operates offices in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and Nairobi, Kenya, as part of its African expansion strategy. The bank has played a key role in supporting African nations with Eurobond issuances, including Nigeria’s 2024 fundraising in the international market.
