JP Morgan plans to establish a merchant bank in Nigeria, with operations expected to begin before the end of 2026, subject to regulatory approval.
Dapo Olagunji, managing director of JP Morgan West Africa, announced the plan at the Nigeria–Asia Financial Connectivity Dialogue in Singapore on October 8.
According to a statement issued on Thursday, the dialogue was convened by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in collaboration with J.P. Morgan, Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) and FMDQ Group.
The proposed merchant bank would mark a new phase in JP Morgan’s presence in Nigeria as the country seeks to deepen its financial markets and attract international investment.
The announcement came amid engagements by Olayemi Cardoso, CBN governor, with financial institutions and market stakeholders in Singapore ahead of the IMF-World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok.
JP Morgan Adds Nigeria to Emerging Markets Index
On September 15, JP Morgan announced Nigeria’s inclusion in its new emerging markets index, assigning the country a weighting of 7.4 per cent.
The index, known as the Government Bond Index–Emerging Markets Edge (GBI-EM Edge), tracks local-currency government bonds across frontier markets. It was launched at the end of September.
Nigeria’s inclusion comes nearly 11 years after the country was removed from JP Morgan’s GBI-EM in 2015.
With a 7.4 per cent weighting, Nigeria is set to become one of the largest markets represented in the new benchmark. The inclusion could increase the visibility of the country’s domestic government securities among global fixed-income investors.
