MOVES-Wells Fargo hires JPMorgan executive as head of cards and merchant services

Jan 21 (Reuters) - U.S. bank Wells Fargo WFC.N named JPMorgan Chase JPM.N executive Ed Olebe as its new head of cards and merchant services on Tuesday, effective immediately.

Olebe, who joined JPMorgan in 2016, succeeds Ray Fischer, who has decided to retire, Wells Fargo said.

"Ed’s industry expertise and deep experience will be invaluable to Wells Fargo as we continue to grow our credit card business and expand our payment capabilities across Merchant Services," said Kleber Santos, CEO of consumer lending at Wells Fargo.

Before joining Wells Fargo, Olebe served as president of branded cards and led Chase's co-branded cards business. Earlier in his career, he held positions at Mastercard MA.N and American Express AXP.N.

Fischer, who joined Wells Fargo in 2019 as head of cards, retail and merchant services, told the bank about his decision to retire last year.

"He's old enough to deserve to retire," said Wells Fargo's CFO Michael Santomassimo, on an earnings call.

(Reporting by Prakhar Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)

((Prakhar.srivastava2@thomsonreuters.com;))