CBN approves Dapo Olagunju to lead JPMorgan Merchant Bank Nigeria

The Central Bank of Nigeria has approved the nomination of Adedapo Adedayo Olagunju as Managing Director of JPMorgan’s proposed merchant bank in Nigeria. The CBN announced the approval on Friday, October 23, 2026, alongside approval-in-principle for JPMorgan Merchant Bank Nigeria Limited. The proposed bank is yet to receive a final operating licence.

Olagunju has led JPMorgan’s West African operations since 2018. The Oxford-trained banker is set to head the American financial institution’s merchant bank plan in Nigeria.

Board nominees approved

The CBN also approved Latter Kevin George, Nzelu Chinedum Izunwanne and Syed Gabriel Murtaza as Non-Executive Directors. Alade Sarah Omotunde, Ajayi Olukonyinsola and Adetu Seni were appointed Independent Non-Executive Directors.

From astronaut dream to banking

Olagunju’s ambition was once space travel. He dreamed of becoming an astronaut and chose science in secondary school because of it. He later found that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board brochure did not offer a course related to aeronautical engineering, limiting his options.

His parents placed considerable emphasis on academic achievement. He sat for the JAMB entrance examination before completing secondary school. He had already passed the private Senior School Certificate Examination and secured university admission before sitting for his WAEC examinations.

He graduated from Ogun State University, now Olabisi Onabanjo University, in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree in Banking and Finance. In 1999, he qualified as a chartered accountant. The decision to pursue accounting was partly influenced by instability in Nigeria’s university system in the 1990s, when industrial actions and student demonstrations disrupted academic activities. He began preparing for Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria examinations during one prolonged break.

He attended the University of Oxford for a Master of Business Administration in 2005 and completed Harvard Business School’s General Management Programme in 2014. He is a Fellow of ICAN and an Honorary Senior Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.

Career across IBTC, Access and JPMorgan

His banking career began at Investment Banking & Trust Company, later part of Stanbic IBTC, where he served as Chief Dealer between January 2000 and March 2003. He moved to Access Bank in 2003 as Treasurer, a position he held until September 2005.

He briefly worked as a consultant with the United Nations between May and July 2006, contributing to peacekeeping financing operations in New York. He returned to Access Bank in September 2006 and began an 11-year period as Group Treasurer that lasted until January 2018. In January 2017, he became Head of Global Markets, overseeing Treasury, Financial Institutions, and Project and Structured Finance.

In January 2018, he joined JPMorgan as Managing Director responsible for its West African business. He has spent the past eight years overseeing its engagement with financial institutions, corporate clients and other market participants. On October 8, 2026, Olagunju disclosed the plans to establish a fully licensed merchant banking operation in Nigeria.

The CBN approval-in-principle puts JPMorgan closer to a merchant banking licence in Nigeria, but operations depend on a final operating licence. For Nigerian businesses, the proposed bank would add another foreign-owned institution to the merchant banking segment if the final licence is granted.