Ex-Chancellor Sajid Javid hired as JP Morgan Advisor

The former Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid has accepted a job with Wall Street giant JP Morgan as an advisor.

On August 17, 2020, the bank announced that Mr Javid had been hired as a senior advisor.

Mr Javid quit as Chancellor in February 2020 after he refused to sack his advisors. The row was part of a power struggle with Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s chief advisor Dominic Cummings.

Mr Javid remains an MP but will take up a position as a member of the US bank’s advisory council for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

The UK headquarters are based in Canary Wharf, London.

JP Morgan did not disclose his pay or hours. However, they said the work would not interfere with his duties as a member of parliament.

JP Morgan said in a statement: “We are delighted to welcome Sajid back to JP Morgan as a senior adviser, and we look forward to drawing upon his in-depth understanding of the business and economic environment to help shape our client strategy across Europe.”

The job marks a return to banking for Mr Javid and a return to a former employer.

The MP began his 18-year career in finance at Chase Manhattan, which later merged with JP Morgan. Mr Javid worked in several roles in its currencies and emerging market businesses.

Mr Javid later joined Deutsche Bank where he ran several of the German lender’s trading businesses in Asia, including in Singapore.

Sajid Javid had reportedly been earning approximately £3 million before he left in 2009 to pursue a political career and was elected to parliament in 2010.

Mr Javid’s role as senior advisor will see him join former Italian economy and finance minister Vittorio Grilli.

He will also join former Prime Minister of Finland Esko Aho on the council.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair also took a job at JP Morgan after leaving office.

Mr Javid will provide advice to the bank’s executives in the region, although he is prohibited from sharing sensitive information he received as Chancellor.

The job has been approved by the UK’s Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA), which oversees jobs for former ministers and top civil servants.

Ministers must seek the panel’s approval if they want a job within two years of leaving a ministry.

The rules aim to stop jobs being traded for favours and sensitive knowledge about forthcoming laws and secrets about competitors.