The
wealth management titan, JP Morgan Chase is expanding its private banking
operations in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, as wealth among entrepreneurs
and their financial backers grows.

Consequently,
the firm is looking to target top executives at the more than 200 public
companies based in San Francisco and Silicon Valley for its private banking services,
according to a report by the San Francisco Business Times.

JP
Morgan currently has a team of more than 100 private bankers and advisors
working in its San Francisco and Palo Alto offices. The
private bank will soon take additional space in the bank's office tower at 560 Mission St in San Francisco, with the
works expected to be done by mid-2014.

As
part of the Bay Area expansion, JP Morgan sent managing director Jeremy
Geller to Palo Alto in February, while Christine
Leong, managing director in San Francisco transferred
from the bank’s offices in New York.

Both
executives said Northern California is a key
focus for the firm, having hired aggressively in recent months in order to
build out its regional franchise.

Half
of this year's Bay Area hires for JP Morgan's private bank have been
transfers of private bankers from the firm’s other markets.

The
hiring pattern “reflects JP Morgan's private banking focus by client sectors,
such as venture capitalists, private equity firms, hedge-fund operators or
venture-backed private companies, much like investment bankers concentrate on
specific industries to better understand common issues facing clients”, said Geller
to the San Francisco Business Times.

In
this respect, the bank is not looking to reach a definite headcount, added
Geller, “but will hire when the right candidates become available”.