JPMorgan's Erdoes says bank has a 'lot of stamina' for China

[NEW YORK] JPMorgan's Mary Erdoes said China remains an opportunity for investors despite concerns about a regulatory crackdown and China Evergrande Group's debt troubles.

The largest US bank has been in China for a century and has "a lot of stamina" for staying in the country, Ms Erdoes, who runs JPMorgan's asset and wealth management unit, said Wednesday at the CNBC Delivering Alpha conference.

"I don't know why it causes so much consternation, except that it's far away, and people haven't been able to travel there for the past 18, 19 months," Ms Erdoes said. "When you talk to our analysts and our traders and our portfolio managers who are in China on the ground, they just don't have this same level of concern and fear."

Global financial firms have been moving to capitalise on China's opening of its financial market. Last month, JPMorgan won approval from Chinese regulators for registration of full ownership of its China securities venture, and last year it took full control of a Chinese mutual fund joint venture.

Fears of default at real estate developer Evergrande have roiled global markets in recent weeks. Though the biggest US banks appear to be sidestepping fallout, investors remain concerned about the potential fallout from the company's debt crisis.

"Everyone's talking about Evergrande as if it's a country - it's just a company," Ms Erdoes said. "It's not the largest thing happening in China." BLOOMBERG