The asset-management division of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is paying $410 million for a 10 percent stake in the state-owned China Merchants Bank.
China Merchant Bank is the country’s top wealth-management firm. The 10 percent stake still needs the nod from Chinese regulators. The move is significant, as this is the only time a bank in China has been open to letting a foreign investor have any control over a wealth management subsidiary.
J.P. Morgan Asset Management and China Merchants Bank partnered two years ago to advance the development of new products as well as financial literacy.
The Shenzhen-based bank is among China’s biggest commercial lenders. Its subsidiary for wealth management controlled roughly $377 billion by the end of last year, a 12 percent hike over 2019.
Headquartered in the Futian District in Shenzhen, China Merchant Bank was founded in 1987. It is the country’s leader in wealth-related business, according to Citigroup analysts in January. The bank said at the time that it gets more revenue from its wealth management division and also handles more assets for individual investors than any of the other banks it currently covers.
