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JPMorgan shuffles senior ranks at European investment bank

A view of the exterior of the JP Morgan Chase & Co. Corporate headquarters in the Manhattan borough of New York City, in this May 20, 2015, file photo. REUTERS/Mike Segar/Files

By Anjuli Davies

LONDON (Reuters) - JPMorgan <JPM.N> has bolstered the senior management team at its European investment bank as it seeks to increase its advisory business amid a buoyant M&A market, according to a memo seen by Reuters on Monday.

The Wall Street bank, which announced forecast-beating quarterly profits last week, has created three new vice chair roles and promoted other senior bankers to larger roles within the investment banking business.

Isabelle Seillier will become vice chairman of EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) investment banking, nurturing clients from her previous roles as head of financial institutions and France.

Laurence Hollingworth takes on the mantel of vice chairman of EMEA ECM (equity capital markets), having previously served as head of industry coverage for corporates EMEA.

Charles Harman is rejoining the bank as vice chairman after spending some time as CEO of private equity firm BXR Partners.

A spokesman for JPMorgan, the biggest U.S. bank by assets, confirmed the contents of the memo.

JPMorgan kicked off the U.S. bank earnings season on Thursday with a stronger-than-expected quarterly performance and expressed confidence about its businesses in 2016 despite a grim start for stocks and oil prices.

It topped the global investment banking league table for 2015, drawing $5.98 billion in fees, or 6.9 percent of the overall wallet, according to Thomson Reuters data.

In EMEA, it ranked second to Goldman Sachs in terms of fees earned in 2015, and No. 3 in mergers and acquisitions in the region by deal value, Thomson Reuters data shows.

Globally, 2015 was the strongest year on record for deal-making, with activity up 42 percent to $4.7 trillion. The EMEA region saw a slightly more subdued 14 percent increase in activity to total $1.45 trillion.

Harry Hampson, previously head of financial sponsors at JPMorgan, will become head of a newly formed EMEA Strategic Investor Group, which will include financial sponsors, sovereign wealth funds and family offices for the first time.

In his place, Axel Beck and Klaus Hessberger will become co-heads of financial sponsors.

Conor Hillery, will become head of the financial institutions group (FIG) EMEA, taking over from Seillier, and Jake Donavan will become head of industry coverage for corporates EMEA, replacing Hollingworth.

(Editing by Susan Fenton)