JPMorgan Uruguay Office Is Under Study, Not Decided, While Licensed Wealth Firms in Uruguay Manage US$47.29 Billion for 88,298 Clients
URUGUAY · BANKING
Key Facts
- The country. Uruguay has 3.4 million people and has been led by President Yamandú Orsi since 1 March 2025. It is the region’s steadiest democracy and a common tax-residence choice.
- The money. The currency is the peso, about 40.2 to the US dollar. Beef, soy, dairy, forestry, software and financial services carry the economy.
- The background. A family office is a private firm that manages one wealthy family’s investments, tax, property and succession, and it takes no deposits from the public. The central bank, the BCU, licenses such firms as portfolio managers or investment advisers.
- What was said. On 23 September 2026 Facundo Gómez Minujín, JPMorgan’s chief for Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia, told Bloomberg Línea that the bank is weighing an office in Uruguay.
- Why now. Licensed managers and advisers held US$47.29 billion for 88,298 clients at the end of 2025, up 12.2% in assets and 22.5% in clients. Argentine residents own 55.9% of those assets.
- What it means. A new tax resident can still claim an 11-year break on foreign investment income. Since 1 January 2026 that needs more than 183 days a year in Uruguay, or property worth about US$2 million.
- The catch. JPMorgan itself has announced nothing: no registration, no lease and no opening date. A representative office must register with the central bank, and a full branch needs government authorization; rivals Itaú and BTG Pactual are already there.
Uruguay’s licensed wealth firms now manage US$47.29 billion for 88,298 clients. A global bank says it is looking, not deciding.
A JPMorgan Uruguay office is under study, not decided, the bank’s Southern Cone chief said on 23 September 2026. JPMorgan itself has announced no plan, no site and no timetable.
What JPMorgan’s regional chief said
Facundo Gómez Minujín is JPMorgan’s chief executive for Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia. He told Bloomberg Línea on 23 September 2026 that the bank is weighing a presence in Uruguay.
Speaking in Spanish, he said Uruguay gives the bank “a lot of peace of mind”. He described the country as full of family offices, and its financial industry as very strong.
He was blunt about the weak spots too. Uruguay had stopped growing at attractive rates, he said, and a long argument over pension reform had slowed investment.
JPMorgan Uruguay office: what is not confirmed
JPMorgan has issued no statement of its own about opening in Uruguay. No registration, lease or opening date has been made public.
The remarks came in a media interview, not in a company announcement. So far it is an idea under review, not a commitment.
The bank’s private bank website lists Uruguay among the southern Latin American markets it covers. Those clients are served by teams based in the United States and Switzerland.
What a family office is
A family office is a private firm that manages one wealthy family’s money and affairs. Its work usually covers investments, tax, property, succession and sometimes charitable giving.
A multi-family office does the same job for several unrelated families at once. Neither type is a retail bank, and neither takes deposits from the public.
Most of Uruguay’s wealth firms sit in Montevideo, many inside free zones that exempt them from most taxes. Uruguay XXI, the state investment promotion agency, says about 60% of them work from those zones.
How big the boom is, in numbers
The Central Bank of Uruguay (BCU) licenses two kinds of wealth firm: portfolio managers and investment advisers. At the end of 2025 there were 74 managers and 102 advisers.
Together those 176 firms ran 174 offices in Uruguay and employed 1,036 people. They looked after 88,298 clients, 22.5% more than a year earlier.
Assets under management reached US$47.29 billion at the end of 2025, up 12.2% in a year. Uruguay XXI puts the 2020 figure at US$28.89 billion.
Where the money comes from
Argentine residents are the largest group by far. They accounted for 39,613 clients and US$26.44 billion, or 55.9% of all assets under management.
Uruguayan residents came next, with 36,692 clients and US$5.15 billion. Brazilian residents numbered 2,350, holding US$1.87 billion.
Another 9,643 clients were resident elsewhere, with US$13.84 billion. The BCU says much of that sum sits in investment funds set up abroad.
The tax and residency rules behind it
Since 2020 a new tax resident has been able to choose an 11-year break on foreign investment income. That covers the year of the move plus the ten years after it.
Uruguay’s 2025–2029 budget law changed who qualifies, for anyone arriving from 1 January 2026. Access now needs more than 183 days a year in the country, or a qualifying investment.
The property route asks for more than 12.5 million indexed units, about US$2 million. The fund route asks for at least 625,000 indexed units, about US$100,000 a year, for production or innovation projects.
Tax residency itself is separate, and easier to reach. One route is property above 3.5 million indexed units, about US$575,000, plus 60 days a year in Uruguay.
Dollar values for indexed units use 23 September 2026 rates. On that day one US dollar bought about 40.2 Uruguayan pesos.
What Uruguayan regulators require
A foreign bank can open a representative office in Uruguay only after registering with the BCU. Such an office may promote and facilitate business for its parent.
It may not carry out financial intermediation, credit or currency operations. It may not take money, securities or precious metals from anyone.
A bank or a branch is a much bigger step. It needs authorization from the executive branch, granted on a favorable report from the central bank.
The Superintendency of Financial Services must then clear it to begin operating. Registered representatives may also act as investment advisers once they are listed.
What this means for expats and investors
A JPMorgan Uruguay office would change nothing today for people already banking there. No account, fee or service is affected by a bank thinking out loud.
The wider trend is real, though, and rivals have already moved. Itaú opened its first private banking office outside Brazil in Uruguay in August 2026.
That service is aimed at clients with at least US$2 million, and BTG Pactual bought HSBC’s local business. More competition can mean better terms, but that is not guaranteed.
What is not known is whether JPMorgan will register anything, and when. A BCU filing, or a statement from the bank, would be the first hard sign.
Until one appears, the measurable story is Uruguay’s steady pull on regional wealth. That pull looks set to keep growing quietly, whatever one bank decides.
More: Uruguay news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has JPMorgan confirmed a JPMorgan Uruguay office?
No. Its Southern Cone chief said the bank is weighing one, but JPMorgan has announced no decision, no registration and no date.
What is a family office?
A private firm that manages the money, tax, property and succession of one wealthy family. A multi-family office does the same for several families.
How big is Uruguay’s wealth industry?
At the end of 2025, 176 licensed firms managed US$47.29 billion for 88,298 clients, according to the central bank.
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Sources: Bloomberg Línea interview with Facundo Gómez Minujín, 23 September 2026; Banco Central del Uruguay, Superintendency of Financial Services; Uruguay XXI; Uruguay’s Dirección General Impositiva and the IMPO law and decree texts; J.P. Morgan Private Bank; El País, Búsqueda, El Observador and Valor.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. How we use AI · Report an error
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