JPMorgan to open more than 500 new bank branches over next three years

First Republic Bank

06/02/2024 11:17

By Nupur Anand
       NEW YORK, Feb 6 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase  JPM.N  said
on Tuesday it was embarking on one of its most aggressive bank
branch expansions in recent years, with plans to add more than
500 new U.S. locations by 2027 to broaden its footprint in areas
where it is under-represented.
        The multi-billion dollar investment will see it open new
branches in places including Boston, Charlotte, the area
surrounding Washington D.C., Minneapolis and Philadelphia, the
bank said. 
        It did not specify the exact amount of the investment.
        JPMorgan's aggressive expansion strategy comes as some
other lenders have been shrinking their presence. The number of
active branches in the U.S. totaled 77,690 after 123 closures
and 80 openings in the month of October, according to S&P Global
Market Intelligence. 
     JPMorgan had the largest network at the end of 2023 with
4,897 branches. Rival Bank of America  BAC.N , which has also
been adding new branches, had 3,845 at the end of December. 
    Buoyed by resilient consumers while bringing in more income
from clients' interest payments as the Federal Reserve raised
borrowing costs, JPMorgan made a record annual profit in 2023.
    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, Chase Consumer
Banking CEO Jennifer Roberts told Reuters.
        "Our branch network is one of the key reasons that
customer open accounts with us and it has helped us attract
deposits," Roberts said. "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."
        Marianne Lake, JPMorgan's CEO of consumer and community
banking, said at an investor conference in December that 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.
    In the last five years the bank had added 650 new branches,
Lake said during its investor day presentation last May.
    She was appointed the sole CEO of the consumer division last
month, which she previously ran together with Jennifer Piepszak.
    The lender also plans to renovate nearly 1,700 of its other
existing branches in the U.S. and will be hiring 3,500 more
employees for its branch network. The bank had 309,926 employees
worldwide at the end of December, higher than any of its peers. 
    JPMorgan also plans to close an additional 30 branches out
of the nearly 60 that it has acquired during the First Republic
Bank takeover last year, Roberts said. First Republic had 84
branches in eight states, and soon after the acquisition
JPMorgan had announced it would shut about 21 of those.
    The lender is also working to overhaul more than 20 of the
First Republic locations into JPMorgan branches that will be
distinct in branding and design compared to its Chase branches
and aimed at its affluent clients, the bank said.
    First Republic was the largest U.S. lender to fail since
2008. JPMorgan has said that its integration is on track.

 (Reporting by Nupur Anand in New York; Editing by Jamie Freed)
 ((Nupur.Anand@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 240 2975;))