Sept 2 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) has appointed

Cassander Verwey as the co-head of EMEA Mergers & Acquisitions

alongside Dwayne Lysaght, according to a memo seen by Reuters.

Verwey, who has been with JPMorgan ( JPM ) for nearly 25 years, is

currently serving as the lender's Senior Country Officer and

Head of Investment Banking for the Netherlands.

He will remain based in Amsterdam, the internal note said.

The appointment comes as M&A activity is starting to pick

up. M&A volumes hit $1.6 trillion globally in the first half of

the year, up 20% from a year earlier, Reuters previously

reported.

Carsten Woehrn, the former EMEA M&A co-head, departed

JPMorgan ( JPM ) and joined Goldman Sachs in July.