J.P. Morgan to Appoint Jose Berenguer as Senior Country Officer in Brazil

NEW YORK and SAO PAOLO, Feb. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- J.P. Morgan today announced that Jose Berenguer will become Senior Country Officer of Brazil, effective April 1, 2013. He will report jointly to Mary Callahan Erdoes, CEO of J.P. Morgan Asset Management, and Martin Marron, CEO of J.P. Morgan's Latin America franchise.

"We are thrilled to build on the success of our Gavea partnership and welcome Jose to J.P. Morgan in an expanded role," Erdoes said. "Jose brings more than two decades of local and global experience across wholesale banking, a client-first mindset, and a proven track record of leading and growing organizations."

Senior Country Officers are responsible for building and managing J.P. Morgan's regional presence across lines of business, including Asset Management and the Corporate & Investment Bank. They play a central role in delivering the firm's global capabilities to local clients.

"Brazil is one of our most important markets in Latin America," Marron said. "We have built great momentum across all of our businesses in the region and we look forward to Jose's help in taking our J.P. Morgan franchise to the next level."

Mr. Berenguer was most recently CEO of Structured Credit at Gavea Investimentos, which he joined in March 2012. Gavea Investimentos was co-founded in 2003 by Arminio Fraga, former President of the Central Bank of Brazil. In October 2010, J.P. Morgan Asset Management purchased a majority interest in Gavea.

"Jose's appointment is an important step in continuing to strengthen the great partnership between J.P. Morgan and Gavea," said Arminio Fraga, Founding Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Investimentos. "We look forward to working with him in his new capacity as Gavea continues to invest in its hedge fund, listed equities, private equity, and real estate businesses."

Before joining Gavea Investimentos, Mr. Berenguer spent five years with Banco Santander SA where he served in a number of roles including CEO of the Wholesale and Investment Bank, Asset Management, Private Banking, Consumer Finance and Retail Banking businesses. Mr. Berenguer also served on the Board of Directors for Banco Santander Brazil. He previously held senior roles at Banco ABN Amro Real SA, Banco BBA Creditanstalt SA, Utor Investimentos, and ING Barings.

About JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.3 trillion and operations worldwide. The firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, asset management and private equity. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.

SOURCE J.P. Morgan