(20 June 2024 – United States) Traditionally focused on financing and advisory for large cap corporate majors, Wall Street giants such as JPMorgan are increasingly turning their attention to commercial middle market enterprises for lending and investment banking products and services.
Miriam Gottfried and Alexander Saeedy report for the WSJ that with a dearth of “mega deals”, banks including JPMorgan are earning more fees from smaller outfits. The aim is to expand the relationships the bank has with almost 30,000 US enterprises. Many companies shifted deposits to larger banks during last year’s banking crisis which engulfed Silicon Valley Bank and others as some regional banks have scaled back lending as they adjust to the impact of higher interest rates.
In 2021, JPMorgan dedicated A$10 billion of its balance sheet to providing direct loans to middle market enterprises, a figure that has grown as of 2024 with the stated aim of “home banking” clients when they might have otherwise allocated their wallet to regional banks or private credit firms for financing.
“Locally based investment banking teams help us better serve our middle-market clients across the country” said BofA Head of North America CIB, Mike Joo.