US-based investment banking company JPMorgan Chase has unveiled its plans to add more than 500 new branch locations in the US by 2027.
The move represents the company’s most aggressive bank branch expansions in recent years and will entail a multi-billion-dollar investment, reported Reuters.
The expansion will widen JPMorgan’s footprint in the areas where it is under-represented, such as Boston, Charlotte, surroundings of Washington DC, Minneapolis, and Philadelphia.
In 2018, the bank announced its plans to open hundreds of new branch locations and expanded its footprint to more than 650 branches, of which 400 are located in 25 new states.
Chase Consumer Banking CEO Jennifer Roberts told Reuters: “The bank’s new branches will typically have a consultative area for customers to have a private conversation and will not use the teller line as the main focal point.
“We really view our branches as a storefront for the entire company and it is an anchor for us to expand our relationship with customers as we aim to be their primary financial partner.”
JPMorgan consumer and community banking CEO Marianne Lake, at an investor conference, said: “The bank was continuing to invest in its branch network and had a less than 5% branch share in 17 of the top 50 markets where it is trying to expand.”
JPMorgan’s expansion strategy comes at a time when some of the other lenders reducing their footprint, and the company had its most profitable year ever in 2023.
JPMorgan also plans to renovate nearly 1,700 of its other existing branches in the US and will hire 3,500 more employees for its branch network.
The lender had the largest network at the end of 2023 with 4,897 branches and was the largest employer with 309,926 employees worldwide, according to the publication.
Also, JPMorgan plans to close an additional 30 branches out of the total nearly 60 branches it acquired during the First Republic Bank takeover last year.
The First Republic had 84 branches in eight states, of which around 21 branches were shut down soon after the acquisition was announced.
Furthermore, JPMorgan is also working to transform over 20 of the First Republic locations into its branches that will be distinct in branding and design compared to its Chase branches.
