Dive Brief:

• JPMorgan Chase’s U.K. retail bank has amassed 1 million customers and more than £10 billion ($10.8 billion) in deposits one year after its launch, the bank announced Tuesday. 
• Amid the growth, JPMorgan aims to “at least double” the digital bank’s 1,000 employees by 2024, Sanjiv Somani, Chase’s U.K. CEO, told Reuters on Friday.
• JPMorgan said the digital bank processed roughly 92 million card and payment transactions since last September, adding that U.K. retail customers have an average of £27,000 ($28,943) in their Chase Saver account.

Dive Insight:

JPMorgan is bullish on the U.K. retail banking market and appears willing to commit the time and capital necessary to replicate its U.S. success abroad.

In an effort to bolster its U.K. offering, JPMorgan purchased U.K.- based digital wealth management platform Nutmeg last year in a deal valued at $972.8 million. The fintech will form part of an extended investments offering for Chase customers, JPMorgan said Tuesday.

"We want to be international, starting with the U.K.," Somani told Reuters. "You have to look at a 10-year view. If you look at anything shorter it will not lead to the right conclusion. ... The retail banking revenue pool is in the trillions, even outside the U.S."

Somani declined to tell Reuters which additional markets the bank is eyeing. The wire service, however, reported this month that JPMorgan is hiring retail bankers in Germany ahead of a potential launch there.

Despite the enthusiasm, JPMorgan predicted in May it would lose $450 million this year on its U.K. consumer bank, in addition to similar amounts “for the next few years.”

However, by digital bank standards, Chase is pulling its weight among U.K. competitors. With $10 billion in deposits, the digital bank has surpassed neobanks Monzo and Starling, Bloomberg reported.

In U.K. deposits, though, the platform still trails Goldman Sachs’ Marcus, which has garnered around $23.6 billion from 750,000 customers since its launch in 2018, according to the wire service.

JPMorgan’s continued charge ahead in the U.K. stands in contrast to a recent move by another U.S.-based lender. Citi last week proposed winding down its U.K. retail banking business to focus on serving its wealthiest clients through wealth management and personal banking.

In a statement Tuesday, JPMorgan said it plans to introduce new features and enhancements to the current Chase U.K. account, including new savings options and lending products, such as a Chase credit card.

“We set out to offer customers good value banking products with a straightforward experience delivered through an easy-to-use app, and we’re excited that consumers have responded so positively to our offer in our first year,” Somani said in a statement. “This is just the beginning and, as we broaden our product offering and fully integrate the investment products offered by Nutmeg, we look forward to playing a wider role in the financial lives of our customers in the future and supporting the communities we serve.”