JPMorgan Chase Bank has received approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission to establish a locally incorporated bank in China. This is the first time that the commission has granted a foreign bank approval to incorporate in Beijing.
The new bank, JPMorgan Chase Bank (China) Company Limited, will commence business later this year. Headquartered in Beijing, the bank will serve JPMorgan’s major banking and financial operations throughout the mainland.
The bank will have branches in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai. The Beijing branch of JPMorgan Chase Bank NA will remain in existence and will be specifically engaged in foreign exchange wholesale business.
The incorporation is a significant milestone in JPMorgan Chase’s 87-year history of operations in China and will accelerate the expansion of the firm’s businesses, and broaden its geographic reach.
JPMorgan told Reuters that, while the new unit will focus mainly on wholesale banking, it may broaden its reach to include the retail market in the future.
Through the establishment of JPMorgan Chase Bank (China) Company Limited we will be able to boost the pace of our expansion in the businesses of trading and risk management in China. The incorporation also demonstrates the firm’s strong support of the government’s efforts to develop China’s financial market, commented Gaby Abdelnour, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Asia Pacific.