The US financial behemoth JPMorgan Chase is approved to enter Kenya

Nearly 12 years after initially announcing its intentions, American banking giant JPMorgan Chase, one of the biggest banks in the world, has finally received approval to operate a representative office in Kenya.

In an effort to establish a broad foothold in Africa, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) declared on Monday that the US financial behemoth could begin operations in Kenya.

The approval comes before Jamie Dimon, the bank’s CEO, is scheduled to travel to Kenya in the next few days as part of a trip to four African nations aimed at expanding the lender’s presence on the continent.

With 10 foreign banks now operating representative offices in Kenya, the competition is intensifying in a market that attracts lenders from nations including the Netherlands, France, China, India, Pakistan, Egypt, South Africa, and Mauritius.

“The JPMorgan Chase Bank representative office in Kenya will stimulate trade and investment and add to the diversity of Kenya’s financial sector,” CBK stated.

Furthermore, the Representative Office’s approval confirms Kenya’s position as a leading center for financial services.

Although they are not allowed to conduct core banking operations like lending or deposit taking, representative offices assist international banks in marketing their goods and services in the nation and serve as a bridge between their parent company and local customers.

According to the CBK, foreign financiers with representative offices in Kenya closed 13 percent more deals last year, totaling Sh413.3 billion, compared to Sh365.6 billion in 2022.

Among these transactions were those involving corporations, trade, real estate, specialist financing, syndicated financing, and project financing.

Bank of China, Bank of Kigali, South Africa’s First Rand Bank, Cooperative Rabobank of Mauritius, Nedbank, and French lender Societe Generale are among the ten international banks with representative offices in Nairobi.