JPMorgan Chase & Co. has obtained a regional headquarters license in Saudi Arabia, enabling the US banking giant to expand its operations in the Kingdom as part of Riyadh’s ongoing effort to draw more multinational companies to establish major bases locally.
While the bank’s Middle East and North Africa operations will continue to report to its London hub, the new license allows JPMorgan to deepen its footprint in Saudi Arabia, where it has long-standing business ties, as reported by Bloomberg.
The bank has deep ties with Riyadh, and last month underwrote a $20 billion debt facility to help investors including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund take Electronic Art Inc. private in a $55 billion deal.
JPMorgan joins a growing list of global financial institutions — including Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, BlackRock and BNY Mellon — that have secured headquarters licenses under Saudi Arabia’s initiative linking government contracts to local presence.
