By Saeed Azhar and Niket NishantNEW YORK (Reuters) – JPMorgan Chase & Co and Bank of America Corp continued to add staff as the economy softens, even after the ranks of the five biggest U.S. lenders swelled by 100,000 since the start of 2020.The chief financial officers of the two biggest U.S. banks said they would hire selectively despite waning economic growth.JPMorgan’s Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Barnum said the bank is still hiring and “in growth mode” in a call with journalists to discuss the bank’s fourth-quarter earnings.The bank’s headcount will probably rise modestly, although “there will be different adjustments at different times, and we’re seeing that all across the company,” Barnum said.Bank of America also continues to hire, particularly in wealth management, while also remaining disciplined on its expenses, Chief Financial Officer Alastair Borthwick told reporters on Friday. Its workforce swelled to 216,823 at the end of 2022 compared with 208,248 a year earlier.”We don’t have any plans for mass layoffs,” he said.Citigroup Inc’s Chief Financial Officer Mark Mason told an earnings briefing “we’re actively hiring to execute against our strategy. But we’re also repacing where that makes sense in light of the environment that we’re in.”The banking giants stood by their hiring plans even as other lenders cut staff …
