FILE PHOTO: A woman passes by a JPMorgan Chase bank in Times Square in New York City, U.S., March 7, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

(Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co's JPM.N alternative investments unit is looking to raise up to $10 billion to boost its spending power in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday.

The bank plans to raise $5 billion to $10 billion in the next couple of months from clients including pension funds, sovereign-wealth funds, family offices and private banks, according to the source.

The biggest U.S. bank by assets already has about $10 billion of client capital that it plans to use on opportunities created by the market disruption in the wake of the outbreak.

That amount has roughly $3 billion earmarked for credit, $3 billion for real estate and $4 billion across transportation and infrastructure.

The pandemic has sent global financial markets into a tailspin, knocking $7 trillion off the value of S&P 500 companies and raising fears of a deep global recession.

JPMorgan said on Saturday it expected real U.S. gross domestic product to fall 10% in the first quarter and plunge 25% in the second quarter.

Bloomberg first reported the possible capital raise on Monday.