JP Morgan Chase & Co. has deposited ₦50 billion ($38 million) with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), according to Bloomberg.
The move is reportedly part of JP Morgan’s efforts to secure a licence to operate a merchant bank in Nigeria.
The Bloomberg report said the deposit is one of the final regulatory requirements for approval. It also signals the US lender’s readiness to launch its merchant banking operation if its application is approved.
CBN approval would allow the bank to expand its services beyond the representative office it currently operates in Lagos, where it conducts its commercial and investment banking business and provides asset and wealth management services.
According to Bloomberg, JP Morgan hopes to receive the licence by the end of the year or in early 2027, provided it obtains all the requisite approvals.
On October 8, Dapo Olagunji, managing director of JP Morgan West Africa, announced plans to establish a merchant bank in Nigeria, with operations expected to commence before the end of 2026, subject to regulatory approval.
The planned merchant bank would expand JP Morgan’s presence in Nigeria as the country seeks to deepen its financial markets and attract international investment.
On September 14, JP Morgan included Nigeria in its new emerging markets index, assigning the country a 7.4 per cent weighting.
The Government Bond Index–Emerging Markets (GBI-EM) Edge, which tracks local-currency government bonds across emerging markets, was launched at the end of September.
Nigeria’s inclusion came nearly 11 years after the country was removed from JP Morgan’s GBI-EM index in 2015.
Its 7.4 per cent weighting reportedly makes Nigeria one of the largest markets represented in the new benchmark.
In 2024, the CBN raised the minimum capital requirement for merchant banks with national licences to ₦50 billion.
