J.P. Morgan plans to establish a merchant bank in Nigeria, with operations expected to begin before the end of 2026, subject to regulatory approval.
Gatekeepers News reports that Dapo Olagunji, managing director of J.P. Morgan West Africa, disclosed the plan at the Nigeria–Asia Financial Connectivity Dialogue held in Singapore on October 8.
According to a statement issued on Thursday, the dialogue was organised by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in collaboration with J.P. Morgan, Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) and FMDQ Group.
The proposed merchant bank would expand J.P. Morgan’s presence in Nigeria as the country seeks to deepen its financial markets and attract more international investment.
The announcement came amid a series of engagements by Olayemi Cardoso, CBN governor, with financial institutions and market stakeholders in Singapore ahead of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok.
On September 15, J.P. Morgan announced Nigeria’s inclusion in its new emerging markets index, assigning the country a weighting of 7.4 percent.
The index, known as the Government Bond Index–Emerging Markets Edge (GBI-EM Edge), tracks local-currency government bonds across emerging markets. It was launched at the end of September.
Nigeria’s inclusion marks a return to J.P. Morgan’s emerging-market government bond index nearly 11 years after the country was removed from the GBI-EM in 2015.
With a weighting of 7.4 percent, Nigeria is expected to account for a significant share of the new benchmark, potentially increasing the visibility of its domestic government securities among global fixed-income investors.
The planned merchant bank and Nigeria’s inclusion in the bond index come as the country seeks to strengthen its financial markets and attract foreign capital.
