JP Morgan is joining a growing number of companies that are increasing salaries. Reuters reports:
JPMorgan Chase & Co is lifting a salary freeze it put in place last year, according to an internal memo, a sign of its growing confidence in the economic recovery after it reported several quarters of improving investment-banking profits.
The on-going credit crunch for small businesses may also get some relief as JPM hires staff to service loan activity to this critical part of the economy:
Separately, the bank said it is adding more than 300 staff to its branches to support a $4 billion increase in small business lending. The initiative, like its mortgage modification program for homeowners, is an effort to show it is extending lending and helping to revive the U.S. economy.