JPMorgan deposits ₦50bn with CBN in bid for Nigerian banking licence
- JPMorgan has placed ₦50 billion with the Central Bank of Nigeria as part of its merchant banking licence application.
- Bloomberg reports the US bank hopes to get approval by late 2026 or early 2027, though the CBN decides.
- The licence would let JPMorgan grow beyond its Lagos representative office into corporate and trade finance.
JPMorgan Chase, the biggest bank in the United States by assets, has deposited ₦50 billion with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as it pushes for a merchant banking licence, according to Bloomberg, which cited people familiar with the matter.
The deposit is one of the last regulatory steps before approval, the report said. It is meant to show that an applicant has enough money to run the business it is proposing.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the process is private, said JPMorgan hopes to secure the licence by the end of 2026 or early 2027. The CBN still has the final say, and there is no guarantee the application will succeed.
Why it matters to Nigerian businesses
JPMorgan has run a representative office in Lagos for years, but that setup does little more than advisory and asset management work. A merchant banking licence would let it lend in dollars to large Nigerian companies, handle cross-border payments and take on more trade finance.
That matters for firms that import goods, export commodities or need foreign currency to fund big projects. Access to dollar loans has been a sore point for many Nigerian businesses in recent years, and more lenders in that space could widen their options.
It would also put the New York-based bank in more direct competition with local and other international banks chasing corporate clients in Africa's largest economy.
Part of a wider African push
The Nigerian move fits a broader plan by JPMorgan to deepen its presence across Africa. The bank has recently appointed Edward Bell to lead investment banking in sub-Saharan Africa, Sailepu Montet to head its Kenya office and Michael Ahonzo Avou to oversee Ivory Coast operations.
Nairametrics reported last year that the bank was preparing to apply for a merchant banking licence in Nigeria.
What happens next: The CBN will review the application and decide whether to grant the licence. Until then, JPMorgan keeps its limited Lagos presence, and the timeline given by the sources remains an expectation, not a confirmation.
