JPMorgan has promoted an executive to lead the roll out of a scheme that aims to bolster the number of Black professionals in its ranks, as City investment banks look to increase racial diversity.

The US bank has promoted Cecil Peters to head of Advancing Black Pathways in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, according to an internal memo seen by Financial News. The aim is to keep the programme — launched two years ago in the US — locally relevant as large investment banks aim to increase the proportion of Black professionals in their workforce following the Black Lives Matter movement that started last year.