(Bloomberg) -- JPMorgan Chase & Co. is planning to set up shop in Munich as the US banking giant keeps expanding in Europe’s largest economy.
The new office in southern Germany’s largest city will focus on asset management and corporate banking, according to remarks made by Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon in an interview with the local newspaper Handelsblatt.
The office will ultimately employ about 30 people, a person familiar with the matter said. Hiring is underway although a physical office is not expected to open before next year, the person said, asking not to be named discussing private information. A handful of executives already work in Munich, including Andreas Hierl and Claudio Wendenburg, the person said. Hierl joined JPMorgan in April and Wendenburg started in July, according to their LinkedIn profiles.
JPMorgan has long been expanding its operations in Germany, having established its European hub in Frankfurt after Brexit. The lender is seeking to increase business with smaller corporate clients and it has also unveiled a plan to launch a digital consumer bank in the country.
“We want to do more business with corporations and medium-sized companies. We want to grow in payments and in investment banking. We want to introduce new products and we continue to increase our staff,” Dimon said in the newspaper interview, referring to his plans for Germany. “There isn’t really any area where we don’t want to grow.”
Dimon declined to say when exactly JPMorgan wants to launch the local consumer bank, which is being developed in Germany’s capital, Berlin. The bank continues to add staff in the city, he said.
Dimon acknowledged in the interview that the German economy has been struggling to recover from an energy crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but said “there are many exceptional companies in this country, talented employees and a good work ethic.”
Dimon added that rising national debt, increased military spending, the conversion of supply chains and the economic shift toward sustainability could keep inflation higher in the US.
He said he could see himself continuing as chairman of the bank for a few years after he steps down as CEO, though that was a decision for the board, according to the interview.
--With assistance from Joshua Gallu.
(Adds names of new hires in third paragraph)
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