JP Morgan Chase is planning to open in Israel a branch that will focus on investment in media, technology and communications, the Bloomberg news agency reported today.
The bank’s spokesman in London confirmed the report. He added that no timetable for setting up the branch had yet been set, and that no executives had been chosen for managing it. The bank’s representative in Israel today is Osnat Sesler, an Israeli who worked in JP Morgan Chase’s branches around the world for several years.
Izak Antika, who manages JP Morgan Chase’s investment banking in several regional around the world, told Bloomberg that the bank was gearing up to open offices in Israel, but would not disclose the exact time at which operations were due to start. He added that the bank considered financial institutions, the media, telecom, and technology key sectors in which it could offer its added value to its customers in Israel.
JP Morgan Chase, set up following the merger between Chase Manhattan and investment bank JP Morgan, is the second biggest financial services group in the US, after Citigroup. It has 90,000 employees in 110 countries.
Six months ago, there were reports that the bank was about to open an office in Israel. It appears the plan was suspended due to the security situation, although the bank rented office space in Tel Aviv.
By opening a branch in Israel, JP Morgan Chase will join a series of investment houses, including Lehman Brothers, Salomon Smith Barney, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and HSBC.
Published by Israel's Business Arena on 15 January, 2001