In mid-January, a JP Morgan delegation held talks with the management of the National Bank of Moldova (NBM) at a forum in Vienna. The parties focused on Moldova’s integration into international financial markets, development of the domestic capital market and infrastructure modernization (in particular, connecting the central depository to regional platforms).
This attention from the largest US bank is considered by the Moldovan authorities as a signal of increasing maturity of the country’s financial ecosystem. NBM Deputy Governor Mihnea Constantinescu, in particular, spoke about the country’s progress, including the implementation of the MIA instant payments system, accession to the SEPA zone and the improvement of Moldova’s sovereign rating to “BB-/B”.
The bilateral meeting also discussed ways to integrate and connect the Moldovan financial infrastructure to the global opportunities offered by JP Morgan. Earlier it was noted that Moldovan banks (e.g. through the agile model) are actively modernizing, becoming more attractive to Western investors. But their entry is constrained by a number of circumstances, which are characterized by the lack of necessary conditions for a full-fledged giant like JP Morgan to operate or for Moldovan companies to go public.
According to experts, the domestic capital market is too small to make it profitable for JP Morgan to enter, while the volume of transactions and the number of available financial instruments should grow by times. Despite the recent upgrade of the sovereign rating to “BB-/B”, Moldova is still categorized as a “non-investment grade” (speculative) country. Big banks are limited in how much capital they can allocate to such regions.
Moldovan law is not yet fully adapted to international stock market standards (e.g., in terms of minority rights protection and disclosure). Listing on external exchanges is limited. An IPO by a Moldovan bank (e.g. maib) or company requires special authorizations and changes in national regulations so that shares can be freely traded in London or Bucharest.
The technical infrastructure is not up to the task either. Moldova’s Central Securities Depository is not yet fully integrated with European platforms (such as Euroclear), making it difficult for foreign investors to buy Moldovan assets “in one click”.
Also, geopolitical instability and high inflation in the region force international players to maintain a cautious wait-and-see attitude. Investors of JP Morgan level need guarantees of full transparency of shareholders (so-called ultimate beneficial owners). Moldova is working in this direction, but the process of cleansing the banking and insurance sectors from “gray” structures is not yet complete.
By the way, the giant itself has big problems at home. Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump filed a $5 billion lawsuit against JP Morgan Chase and its CEO Jamie Dimon because the company stopped providing him and his business with banking services for political reasons in 2021. This is reported by CNN and Bloomberg.
In the lawsuit, Trump outlined that JP Morgan bank refused to serve him in 2021 for political reasons. The New York Post wrote that the refusal to serve Trump was pushed by banks including Biden after storming the Capitol. And last year, the cryptocurrency industry went to war again with one of Wall Street’s most powerful institutions. JPMorgan is facing a massive boycott after new allegations of non-banking activities using cryptocurrency.
