The private banking arm of JP Morgan is expanding internationally to reduce its focus on the US, develop its European presence and join the battle to tap the ultra-wealthy in emerging markets, according to an interview with its EMEA chief with Reuters.

Pablo Garnica, private banking chief for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, told the news service that the bank had kicked off a hiring spree and is also looking at possible acquisitions.

"We don't rule out any opportunistic growth opportunity ... we cannot only rely on aggressive organic growth," Mr Garnica was quoted as saying. He added that the bank had looked at potential acquisition targets in the UK and continental Europe.

"In our plans, international growth is higher than domestic [US] growth," said Mr Garnica, who has headed the Private Bank's EMEA business since January 2008.

As part of the shift away from the US, it was reported in early February that Douglas Wurth, the head of JPMorgan’s international private banking unit, relocated from New York to Hong Kong.

In his region alone, Mr Garnica said the bank is targeting a 15 per cent increase in headcount among senior, client-facing bankers through recruitment and may look to poach entire teams of experts or regional specialists.

The strategy to globalize the business, which caters to super-rich clients with more than $20 million in investible assets, hinges in part on chasing new wealth being created in emerging markets such as the Middle East, Mr Garnica said.

"The Middle East is our biggest business and it continues to be a region where there is wealth creation. Again we have aggressive plans to grow there," he said.

But the best performing market in 2009 in the EMEA region was the UK, Mr Garnica said, largely due to London’s profile as a financial centre.