J.P. Morgan Chase N.A. Bank has appointed former CBK executive Sailepu Montent as its Country Manager, following the recent approval for the banking giant to operate in Kenya. The appointment was confirmed by the company in response to inquiries from Bloomberg.
Sailepu Montent will be responsible for overseeing JP Morgan Chase Bank’s representative office in Kenya and managing its activities in compliance with the Banking Act.
Montent brings over 20 years of experience in banking across both the public and private sectors, with a focus on financial markets. Before joining J.P. Morgan, he served as Deputy Director of Financial Markets and Head of Reserves Management at the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).
Prior to his time at the CBK, Montent spent more than 15 years at Absa Bank, where he held various senior roles. His career at Absa, formerly known as Barclays, began in 2005 when he was appointed Executive Assistant to the Regional Managing Director. In 2008, he was promoted to Senior Dealer, a position he held for six years before becoming Head of Balance Sheet Management in June 2014.
From January 2017 to April 2018, Montent also served as Regional Treasury Manager for Barclays Africa Group Limited. He then assumed the role of Head of Capital and Liquidity Management at Barclays Bank of Kenya, and in February 2020, he was promoted to Vice President of Capital and Liquidity Management at Absa Bank Kenya PLC before departing for his position at the CBK.
Montent holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Economics from the University of Leicester, which he earned in 2002, and a Master of Science in Management & Regulation of Risk, Accounting, and Finance from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), completed in 2003.
Read: 3 Benefits of JP Morgan Chase Bank Presence in Kenya
JPMorgan Chase & Co., based in New York City and incorporated in Delaware, is the largest bank in the United States and, as of 2023, the world’s largest bank by market capitalization. The Central Bank of Kenya’s authorization for JPMorgan Chase N.A. to establish a representative office in Nairobi marked the end of a 12-year delay caused by regulatory obstacles that had hindered the bank’s expansion into Kenya. This approval also comes in advance of an upcoming visit by JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who is seeking to expand the bank’s presence across Africa.
Sailepu Montent, pending regulatory approval, will take on the role of Chief Representative Officer for J.P. Morgan in Kenya.