What it does: As a financial firm, JP Morgan provides various financial services, including corporate banking, investment banking, asset management, commercial banking, retail banking, loan issuance, and community banking, to its diverse clientele.
Mission: To be the very best financial services company in the world.
Size and presence: JP Morgan employs over 19,000 staff members across its four offices in the U.K. These offices are located in Bournemouth, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and London. JP Morgan headquarters is located in London. The London office alone has up to 12,000 employees.
Best known for: JP Morgan is one of the oldest and largest financial institutions in the world. This bank has won several prestigious awards, which highlight the quality of service it offers. JP Morgan won more awards in Euromoney's 2022 banking survey than any other leading firm in the world. Most notable of these awards are the "Best Global Private Bank and Wealth Manager Overall," "Best Investment Management," and "Best Capitals and Advisory," among others.
The good bits: The company has a great working culture. Its employees enjoy numerous benefits and perks. There are ample training and development opportunities.
The not so good bits: Getting a job at JP Morgan is far from easy because of the high rate of competition. The work-life balance isn’t great.
JP Morgan's origins are a cumulative history of several predecessor firms, the first of which was established in 1799. The Bank of the Manhattan Company was the 3rd oldest bank in the world and JP Morgan's earliest predecessor. It was initially a bank for a water-carrying company, but the founder, Aaron Burr, developed it into a fully-fledged bank. In 1877, the bank acquired Chase National Bank and rebranded to Chase Manhattan Bank. This company grew to be one of the biggest firms in treasury, lending, and securities management between the 1970s and 80s.
In 1996, the company was acquired by Chemical Bank and later merged with JP Morgan & Co, which John Pierpoint Morgan founded. JP Morgan became the first company in the world to hit the billion-dollar valuation mark. The Bank made a series of strategic acquisitions and grew in size and influence. When the bank expanded to Europe, the U.K was one of the first places it grew a presence. As of today, JP Morgan has four offices across the U.K. Its European Technology Center in Glasgow is one of the biggest technology employers in Scotland.
JP Morgan is employee-oriented and believes its staff is its most valuable asset. The company culture is premised on diversity and inclusion, creating a sense of belonging for every employee within its ranks. At JP Morgan, employees from different ethnicities, nationalities, social statuses, and sexual orientations get along and collaborate towards a common goal. This is the right environment for fresh graduates and interns to grow professionally and begin their careers in the banking industry.
The hiring process is simple:
JP Morgan offers several career programmes that fresh graduates, interns, and experienced professionals can take advantage of to upskill themselves. This company offers school programs, pre-internships, apprenticeships, and internships to undergraduates. They provide full-time employment programs to those who have completed high school and want to rack up some work experience. There are also graduate programs and career opportunities for experienced professionals in nearly every financial area.
The average annual pay for a fresh graduate is £40,000.
JP Morgan actively contributes to the cause against climate change. The company invests in environmental sustainability and proffers long-term solutions to address the issue. JP Morgan is also committed to closing the racial wealth gap.
It’s incredibly difficult to avoid controversies in the banking industry. However, JP Morgan UK isn’t linked to any widely published controversy.