The hiring practices of JPMorgan Chase are under investigation by US federal authorities. This investigation had expanded beyond China's borders, where the bank currently is being questioned as to its practice of hiring children of Chinese government officials to land lucrative accounts.

The bank had included the report in its latest securities filing last Friday. It said US authorities were looking into 'its business relationships with certain related clients in the Asia-Pacific region and its engagement of consultants in the Asia Pacific region."

The report did not specify the direction of the inquiries beind done. According to individuals briefed on the matter, the authorities are examining the bank's hiring practices in countries such as South Korea, Singapore and India. The scrutiny was undertaken upon the direction of JPMorgan for the review.

All the investigations done by the SEC and the Justice Department were still in their initial stages. For its part, the Hong Kong and British regulatory authorities are also reviewing the hiring practices of the bank, according to sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.