JPMorgan to bump up Asia-Pacific headcount to capture innovation economy opportunities
US bank will add 10 per cent to its corporate banking staff in the unicorn-rich region in the next year
JPMorgan Chase plans to expand its corporate banking team across Asia next year as it eyes growing business opportunities from intra-Asia trades, the innovation economy and payment services, according to executives of the US bank.
“We aim to add 10 per cent headcount to the corporate banking team across Asia next year,” said Oliver Brinkmann, Asia-Pacific co-head of global corporate banking.
The bank, which operates in 17 markets in the region, is seeing a significant increase in regional trade against the backdrop of economic growth in many Asian countries. The trend is also partially driven by geopolitical headwinds, he added.
“The velocity of investments has changed,” Singapore-based Brinkmann said in an interview in Hong Kong. “There’s also much more focus on building out a home-based, Asian business for many of the Asian corporates.”
As a result, the bank is investing resources through broader subsidiary banking and country desks to capture emerging growth corridors such as Korea, Japan, India and China.
The additional headcount will be dispersed through the team’s four verticals: large-cap, mid-cap, innovation economy and subsidiary banking.