JPMorgan Chase said Wednesday it has formed a group within its commercial bank to cater to venture-backed and early-stage companies.
The move places JPMorgan, the largest U.S. bank by assets, in competition with SVB Financial, the $56 billion-asset parent company of Silicon Valley Bank,
The so-called emerging growth group at JPMorgan will focus on startups that serve consumers in a range of industries, including food, beauty and pets. The group provides a tailored suite of financial services to customers, including loans, treasury services, credit cards and international banking.
“The emerging growth sector demands understanding of early-stage growth patterns, fluency with the solutions and services that high-growth companies need, and a network within the venture capital community,” Alton McDowell, who will lead the team for JPMorgan, said in a press release. “We’re building a dedicated, domestic and international ecosystem around these companies.”
McDowell, a 20-year veteran of JPMorgan, has held a number of key roles within the New York company's commercial and investment banks, focusing on debt capital markets as well as M&A and initial public offerings for media companies, among other areas.
The emerging growth group has offices in eight markets: Austin, Texas; Boston, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Seattle.
The new group will operate within JPMorgan's specialized industries office, which is led by Melissa Smith and part of the company's middle-market banking division.
“Disruptors in the innovation economy are changing the world with new business models, products and services that improve the customer experience,” Smith said in the release.
