The March collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank was a kind of signal for JPMorgan to take action aimed at filling the vacuum in the part of the financial system where the interaction of creditors with startups was developing.

The giant of the American banking sector immediately realized that it was in his interests to intensify efforts in the business of banking venture capitalists and startups. The largest US financial institution on Tuesday, July 11, released a statement according to which it managed to fill the vacuum created by the collapse of the SVB by hiring dozens of bankers around the world.

The chief executive officer of JPMorgan commercial bank, Doug Petno, said in an interview that it is extremely rare for situations like the bankruptcy of a Silicon Valley Bank to occur when a monopolistic player curtails operations overnight. He also said that the lender is open for business development and noted that it is highly likely that the banking giant will strengthen its position according to the results of the current situation in the industry.

The most notable hire in the context of efforts to fill the resulting vacuum was Silicon Valley Bank veteran John China, who will co-lead the venture business with Melissa Smith, head of specialized industries. John China has worked for almost 30 years at a financial institution that collapsed in March, and at the beginning of this year was the president of SVB Capital. As a result of obtaining a new position, he will work in San Francisco and lead the team of a commercial lender for innovation and economics.

JPMorgan has attracted about 20 bankers in the UK and 10 in Israel. These specialists will work in a team interacting with startups.

The collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank gave JPMorgan a boost. Clients of a failed financial institution immediately thought about opening accounts with other creditors, and many of them realized these intentions to diversify risks. Against the background of the current situation, the status of major players in the US banking sector with a long history seemed to have grown by itself. In conditions of large-scale uncertainty, banking giants that have been operating for decades seem to be reliable support. Such a logic of thinking is justified in many ways, because, for example, JPMorgan has withstood the storms of different economic eras.

JPMorgan Commercial Bank currently serves clients not only in the United States but also in 25 countries, including Japan, China, and other Asian states. The number of employees of this lender is almost 175 people.

According to the results of last year, the revenue of the commercial division of the largest American banking giant amounted to about $ 847 million. The lender continues to interact with Chinese startups, despite the very tense relations between the United States and China. The commercial bank plans to hire a banker for the innovation economy team in Shanghai shortly.

The desire to expand the scope of activity is fixed during the period of difficulties with consumer deposits. Jennifer Piepszak, co-CEO of JPMorgan’s consumer and public banking division, said that deposits in this category were slightly reduced due to the tightening of the requirements of the Federal Reserve System and the replenishment of the Treasury’s general account by the Ministry of Finance. In 2022, the lender opened 2 million accounts on a net basis and plans to repeat the result this year.

Currently, competition for deposits is growing. Banks that work only with digital technologies, including Capital One, Ally Financial, and Marcus from Goldman Sachs, reported a quarterly increase in deposits of the corresponding category.

As we have reported earlier, JPMorgan On Track to Deliver $1 Billion in Value Through AI.