Iain Withers

LONDON, Reuters – JPMorgan (NYSE)’s British retail bank Chase plans to add hundreds of staff to its workforce next year. This will allow it to increase the number of employees to over 1,000, according to the chief of the venture.

The fledgling bank – U.S. giant JPMorgan’s first overseas consumer bank – has already handled hundreds of millions of pounds of purchases across more than a million transactions, lifted by a spending splurge in the run up to Christmas, the bank said.

This venture serves as a trial case for Jamie Dimon, CEO of the lender. He is considering expanding his vast U.S. retail banking network globally via a digital platform.

Sanoke Viswanathan is the head of JPMorgan’s international consumer division. He said that 200 employees had been hired since September, bringing its total to 800. The venture also plans to add hundreds to its workforce next year, as it increases its product line.

He said that JPMorgan will replicate Chase’s model in Europe and other countries in the coming years.

Viswanathan explained, “We had a strategy and we’re definitely on it.” We want to reach all major European markets in the future, all things being equal. It is important to be pan-European.

The bank will expand its business in Britain by offering investment and savings services. It plans to integrate Nutmeg (its acquired digital wealth manager Nutmeg), before moving into consumer lending.

Viswanathan stated that Chase will make profits by developing new services, although Chase may be losing money for many years.

The business will hire new employees all over the company, from its London headquarters to customer service centres in Edinburgh and Manila.

Viswanathan did not disclose Chase’s client numbers. However, he stated that sign ups have exceeded internal expectations. This reaffirmed Chase’s expansion plans.

Viswanathan stated that JPMorgan would be willing to create a UK-specific retail bank in order to slow the company’s growth. The current rule states that banks must manage retail banks with deposits of 25 billion pounds or greater on a separate basis. However, this regulation is being reviewed.

Viswanathan stated, “We will deal with the consequences as necessary.” “The UK bank didn’t exist to fund the investment bank. This represents a real foray in to retail banking over the long-term.