JPMorgan commercial bank enters Israel in global push

REUTERS/Mike Segar

JPMorgan Chase & Co’s commercial bank is entering Israel and Singapore this year as its unit catering to midsize and small companies makes a global push, the bank said.

The moves will give the commercial bank a presence in 28 countries by year-end. JPMorgan’s international operations serve American companies that do business overseas, as well as foreign companies that operate in the US.

The largest US lender has been beefing up its global presence, with a goal of quadrupling the number of commercial clients as it enters new geographies. It currently serves more than 650 clients and has 2,500 prospects across 26 countries, Andrew Kresse, head of corporate client banking for international at JPMorgan, said in an interview.

“Companies can’t outgrow us,” he said. “That’s one of the reasons we’re so excited about continuing to build out our innovation economy business in markets like Paris, London, Tel Aviv and Sydney – because we can be part of the journey with them from pre-revenue to IPO.”

JPMorgan’s commercial bank began branching outside of the US and Canada in 2019, establishing bases in Europe and Asia. It has since hired 175 bankers and expects their ranks to swell to more than 200 by the end of the year, he said.

The expansion echoes global trade volumes, which reached $25.3 trillion at the end of 2022, up by 12 percent from the previous year, according to the World Trade Organization.

JPMorgan is also expanding its business focusing on early-stage companies, hiring more than a hundred bankers this year to serve companies in so-called innovation economy sectors, such as technology, e-commerce and life sciences.

The bank’s broader commercial bank has nearly 25,000 clients, including mid-sized businesses and corporations, government entities and non-profits and more than 33,000 real estate investors or owners.

“We are working towards our $1 billion revenue target, this too is well within reach,” Doug Petno, JPMorgan’s CEO of commercial banking, told investors last month.

Revenue for the international commercial business stood at $847 million at the end of 2022, reflecting annual growth of 17 percent.

“We are trying to bring a simpler way of doing business to these mid-sized companies, and replicate in other geographies what we we’ve successfully built in the US,” said Morgan McGrath, head of international banking in the commercial unit.

“We hope to become the primary global banking partner to clients headquartered outside of the US,” he added.