JPMorgan Hires from Rivals to Boost Corporate Banking in Europe

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has hired executives from Bank of America Corp. and Deutsche Bank AG to expand its corporate banking services for mid-sized companies outside the US.

(Bloomberg) — JPMorgan Chase & Co. has hired executives from Bank of America Corp. and Deutsche Bank AG to expand its corporate banking services for mid-sized companies outside the US.

The Wall Street firm on Thursday named Stephanie Soybel, formerly of Bank of America, as head of Nordics payments sales for corporate client banking in Stockholm, according to an internal memo. Saskia Weller, previously at Deutsche Bank, will serve in Berlin as debt finance lead for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Alex McCracken, previously at Silicon Valley Bank, joins as head of innovation economy for the UK, Ireland and the Nordics, corporate client banking.

The latest hires are part of a push by JPMorgan to do more business with smaller corporate clients abroad, taking on the likes of Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas SA on their home turf. “We’re not building this for one part of the cycle but over the next 50 years,” Andrew Kresse, head of corporate client banking international at JPMorgan, said in an interview. 

JPMorgan is targeting firms in tech, life sciences and disruptive commerce, as well as areas such as renewable energy, sustainable finance and food technology.

“The future is unknown in 2023, there are more potential land mines, but we’re built to do really well in tough times,” Kresse added. “These companies still need a great bank and should be managing even more conservatively today when cash is hard to come by.”

Last year, Kresse’s team in Europe and Asia Pacific grew by 23 people and there’s scope to expand by the same amount in 2023, he said. The firm plans to announce a banking lead for the innovation economy business in Germany in the coming months.

The European market for technology companies has been more disciplined than the US in terms of where it distributed money, how it was invested and valuations, according to Kresse. “We view Europe in a better position for technology, and we are just starting our business here so there are no legacy issues.”

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