US Bank JP Morgan says it is hopeful its eventual presence in Ghana will be of immense benefit to the financial sector in the country. The bank is gearing up to open a permanent office in Ghana by the first quarter of next year as it tracks its multinational clients into frontier Africa.

The company is already present in South Africa and Nigeria. JP Morgan has topped the fee-earning league tables among investment banks in sub-Saharan Africa for the last two years. The bank says its move to establish a presence in the country is to among other things provide credit for smaller banks in the country.

It also hopes to deepen its customer reach as well as cater for its clients in Ghana. Ghana started pumping oil in December 2010, attracting considerable investor interest. Managing Director of sub Saharan Africa for JP Morgan, Marc Hussey told Citi News that the bank was drawn to the country by the impressive growth of the economy.

“We have plans to open an office in Ghana by the end of this year or early next year depending on the logistics in securing an office space. We hope to become more relevant to business and government in Ghana. We were attracted by the growth prospects in the country and I think the GDP growth is accelerating very strongly.

“We like the business dynamics in the country, we think we can do business with existing domestic banks and to satisfy the international clients in the firm doing business in Ghana.”