JPMorgan Chase Appoints Marianne Lake to Head Overseas Consumer Banking

JPMorgan Chase has given Marianne Lake, the head of its consumer and community banking division, the additional responsibility of overseeing its overseas consumer banking arm and strategic growth office.

The move followed the departure of Sanoke Viswanathan, who resigned to become CEO of data company FactSet, according to a Tuesday (June 3) internal memo obtained by PYMNTS.

Bloomberg reported Tuesday that Lake is a leading contender to one day succeed JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. Viswanathan had been seen as another possible successor, before his departure.

“Sanoke has made an indelible and positive impact on JPMorgan Chase, and we have greatly benefited from his entrepreneurial mindset,” Dimon and JPMorgan Chase President Daniel Pinto wrote in the memo.

JPMorgan’s consumer offering in the U.K. has 2.5 million customers and is “set to expand” to continental Europe, the memo said.

Reuters, which also reported on the JPMorgan Chase memo and the executives’ moves, said Viswanathan was with the bank for more than a decade and was a member of its operating committee. He is set to join FactSet in September.

“We are fortunate to have strong leadership teams in all of these businesses, and Sanoke will work closely with them to ensure an orderly transition,” Dimon and Pinto wrote in the memo.

In a Tuesday press release from FactSet, Viswanathan said he was drawn to the company by its role in global financial markets and its ability to create value for clients.

“I look forward to supporting the evolution of FactSet’s unique value proposition as a leading data and workflow solutions provider, and delivering new products and services to drive sustainable growth,” Viswanathan said.

Lake served as JPMorgan Chase’s chief financial officer before being named the CEO of the bank’s consumer lending business in April 2019. It was reported at the time that her appointment to a role in which she would gain more direct experience in running a business unit within the company suggested that Lake was an heir apparent for Dimon’s role.

On Monday (June 2), it was reported that Dimon told Fox Business that his retirement is “several years away.”

“Obviously, it’s always up to God and the board,” Dimon said. “We’ve got some great people. There will be an appropriate time.”