WALL Street giant JP Morgan said it is braced for more than $1bn losses as it grows its digital bank Chase over the next few years, as the retail lender passed the 500,000 customer mark in the UK this week.

Boss of JP Morgan's international consumer growth initiatives, Sanoke Viswanathan, said in an investor presentation this week that the firm was expecting Chase to break even by 2027 or 2018.

The bank is expecting to lose around $450m on the bank this year and a "similar amount for the next few years", Viswanathan said.

Chase, which first began operation in the UK last year, would generate "significant income thereafter" if the bank successfully executes its growth strategy, Viswanathan said.

Like many fintech startups, losses are expected as firms scale due to hefty investment in growth and technology development.

His comments came as the digital lender announced it had notched up 500,000 customers in the UK.

(c) 2022 City A.M., source Newspaper