Meet Dapo Olagunju, JP Morgan’s MD Betting On Nigeria’s Reforms

…Says CBN regulation and recent policy changes drove bank’s expansion

The managing director of J.P. Morgan West Africa, Dapo Olagunju, has said the Central Bank of Nigeria’s regulatory standards and the economic reforms of the past three to four years are behind the bank’s decision to expand in Nigeria.

Olagunju spoke on Tuesday in Abuja at a panel on attracting investment, held during the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit (NES32).

He said the bank’s move reflects confidence in the reforms, which he compared in significance to an earlier turning point in the country’s political and economic history. He described the CBN as professionally run and said J.P. Morgan was backing its view with capital.

The comments follow the CBN’s approval-in-principle, granted on October 23, for JPMorgan Merchant Bank Nigeria Limited. The bank still needs a final licence before it can start operations.

Olagunju, an Oxford-trained banker with more than two decades in financial services, has been nominated to lead JPMorgan’s proposed merchant bank in Nigeria.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced approval-in-principle on October 23, 2026, for JPMorgan Merchant Bank Nigeria Limited and cleared Olagunju as Managing Director. The bank still needs a final operating licence before it can begin banking activities.

Olagunju has led JPMorgan’s West African business since January 2018, handling its dealings with financial institutions, corporate clients and other players in the region’s financial markets.

Olagunju once wanted to be an astronaut, a dream that led him to study science in secondary school. He recounted in a May 2019 interview that his plan ended when aeronautical engineering did not appear in the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) brochure at the time.

He studied Banking and Finance at Ogun State University, now Olabisi Onabanjo University, and graduated in 1998. A year later he qualified as a chartered accountant through the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), a route he took partly because of frequent university strikes in the 1990s. He is now a Fellow of ICAN and an Honorary Senior Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.

He earned an MBA from the University of Oxford in 2005 and completed Harvard Business School’s General Management Programme in 2014.

IBTC (2000-2003): Started as Chief Dealer at Investment Banking & Trust Company, which later became part of Stanbic IBTC.

Access Bank (2003-2005): Joined as Treasurer.

United Nations (2006): Worked between May and July as a consultant in New York on peacekeeping financing, then returned to Access Bank.

Access Bank (2006-2018): Served as Group Treasurer from September 2006 to January 2018, overseeing treasury operations, balance sheet management, fixed-income securities and foreign exchange.

Access Bank Global Markets (2017): Became Head of Global Markets in January 2017, with Treasury, Financial Institutions, and Project and Structured Finance under him.

JPMorgan (2018-): Joined in January 2018 as Managing Director for West Africa.

On October 8, 2026, Olagunju discussed the merchant bank plans at the Nigeria-Asia Financial Connectivity Dialogue in Singapore. CBN, JPMorgan, Nigerian Exchange Group and FMDQ Group representatives took part.

The subsidiary would extend JPMorgan’s presence beyond its representative office in Lagos, subject to regulatory approvals and licensing.

The CBN also approved a board for the proposed bank:

Non-Executive Directors: Latter Kevin George, Nzelu Chinedum Izunwanne and Syed Gabriel Murtaza

Independent Non-Executive Directors: Alade Sarah Omotunde, Ajayi Olukonyinsola and Adetu Seni

Speaking at the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja on Tuesday, Olagunju said the CBN’s professional regulation and the reforms of the past three to four years influenced the bank’s decision to deepen its Nigerian presence.