JPMorgan Chase has appointed Sailepu Montet, the former deputy director of financial markets at the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), as Kenya's country manager.
This follows JPMorgan’s entry into Kenya as part of its Africa expansion this year.
Montet has been CBK’s deputy director of financial markets and its head of reserves management since July 2021.
Before his appointment, he worked at Absa Bank Kenya (formerly Barclays Bank) as the lender’s head of capital and liquidity management and later vice president in the docket.
Montent holds a master’s degree in accounting and finance risk management from the London School of Economics and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Leicester.
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On Monday, CBK announced that it had authorized the New York-based company to establish a representative office in Kenya.
Representative offices of foreign banks serve as marketing and liaison hubs for their parent banks and affiliates.
According to CEO Jamie Dimon, who spoke to Reuters, JPMorgan will focus on commercial and investment banking, treasury services, and possibly some lending in Kenya and Ivory Coast.
He said they have no immediate plans to offer asset and wealth management (AWM) services, which the lender offers in South Africa and Nigeria.
"We are not doing AWM now but that doesn't mean it wouldn’t happen in the next few years," Dimon told the news agency.
CBK said on Monday that JPMorgan’s office is expected to contribute to the diversity of Kenya's financial sector and spur trade and investments.
