JPMorgan Chase poaches record number of senior bankers as Wall Street talent war escalates
JPMorgan Chase has hired a record number of senior bankers in the past year, poaching about 100 managing directors from rivals including Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, as Wall Street’s largest lender looks to expand its investment banking franchise.
The bank has brought in more managing directors to its commercial and investment banking division in the past 12 months than it did in the previous decade combined, the Financial Times reported.
The hiring spree began after an internal review when JPMorgan merged its commercial, corporate and investment banking units in early 2024.
The bank is targeting subsectors including healthcare, technology and infrastructure, while also seeking to expand in Europe and Asia and build out its middle market coverage.
High-profile appointments include Goldman Sachs’ Jerry Lee as global chair of investment banking, HSBC’s Kamal Jabre as vice-chair of M&A in EMEA, and several senior bankers from Citi, including Eduardo Miras, Theo Giatrakos, Keith Heller and Anthony Diamandakis.
A person close to the bank told the FT JPMorgan has hired more than 300 bankers since early 2024, with almost a third of those joining at managing director level.
JPMorgan Chase has been approached for comment.
Competition with Citi
The recruitment drive comes as JPMorgan faces increased competition from Citigroup, which has been raiding its ranks under new banking chief Vis Raghavan.
Since joining Citi last year, Raghavan, a former head of global investment banking at JPMorgan, has brought across at least 10 senior ex-colleagues.
Citi has recently named Amit Nayyar as co-head of European technology banking, Guillermo Baygual as co-head of global M&A, and Pankaj Goel as co-head of technology investment banking, all of whom previously worked at JPMorgan.
Achintya Mangla, another former senior JP Morgan banker and long-time Raghavan lieutenant, has also joined Citi to lead financing for investment banking.
The hiring spree has extended beyond JPMorgan alumni.
Citi has also hired David Friedland, a 25 year Goldman Sachs veteran, as co-head of North America investment banking coverage, and is building out its private credit capabilities through a $25bn venture with Apollo.
Market position
JPMorgan reported $4.7bn (£3.7bn) in investment banking fees in the first six months of 2025, outpacing Goldman Sachs on $4.1bn (£3.2bn) and Citi on $2.2bn (£1.7bn), according to company filings.
Both JPMorgan and Citi are also contending with increasing competition from boutique firms such as Evercore and Centerview, which have been winning market share on high-profile advisory mandates.
At JPMorgan, the expansion comes as the bank continues to prepare for succession after nearly two decades under chief executive Jamie Dimon.
Leading contenders to replace him include Doug Petno and Troy Rohrbaugh, co-heads of the commercial and investment bank, as well as Marianne Lake, head of the consumer bank.