Dive Brief:

• JPMorgan Chase plans to open about 160 new branches in about 30 states this year, as part of its multiyear strategy to increase its physical presence across the U.S.
• The largest U.S. lender, which counts more than 5,000 branches across the lower 48 states and Washington, D.C., also intends to renovate about 600 branches this year, according to a Wednesday news release.
• “Major expansion” this year is planned in North and South Carolina, Florida, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Massachusetts and Tennessee, the bank said.

Dive Insight:

The effort is part of Chase’s multibillion-dollar growth strategy announced in 2024, in which the bank pledged to open about 500 new branches, renovate 1,700 locations and hire 3,500 employees by 2027. 

In 2024, the New York City-based bank circled Boston, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, the D.C. area and Charlotte, North Carolina, as locations for planned branch expansion.

On Wednesday, Chase said it’s entering some new markets, including low- to moderate-income and rural communities, “to expand access to affordable and convenient financial services nationwide.” 

Branch designs vary by location, and some are staffed by large teams of bankers while others serve as more of a community gathering place. 

“Every Chase branch is a reflection of its neighborhood — staffed by local experts, designed with local input, and focused on delivering the right solutions for every customer,” Jennifer Roberts, CEO of Chase Consumer Banking, said in the release.

The lender is intent on shortening drive times to branches and being easily accessible to clients, Billy Botsakos, a regional director for consumer banking at Chase, has told Banking Dive. He noted the bank wants to be within an hour’s drive of 75% of its U.S. customers.

To meet that goal, “we have to go in places that we’re currently not,” Botsakos said last August. 

This year’s branch openings are set to bolster the lender’s presence in the Southeast, Northeast, the Southwest and the central U.S., the bank said Wednesday. 

In the Charlotte market, for example, JPMorgan will add five branches by the end of the year, totaling 30 locations in the area, a bank spokesperson said Wednesday. 

“Strong demand” for the bank’s services in that city “has fueled our rapid expansion,” Botsakos said Wednesday.

Botsakos previously flagged plans for more North Carolina branches in Raleigh and its suburbs, Winston-Salem, Greensboro and Wilmington; in South Carolina, he noted the opportunity to add locations in the outskirts of Myrtle Beach, and in Hilton Head and its surrounding area.  

JPMorgan reviews data revealing client migration patterns and relies on input from locally hired staff, who know the areas, to determine where it needs to add to its footprint, Botsakos said. 

In light of the plans announced Wednesday, the bank intends to hire 1,100 employees, furthering its goal of hiring about 10,500 consumer bank employees by the end of this year.

Globally, JPMorgan Chase employs about 318,512 people, with about 144,196 of those in the consumer and community banking segment – the most of any unit at the bank, according to its most recent annual filing.

As big banks chase more affluent customers, the lender’s branch plans include the opening of 10 more J.P. Morgan Financial Centers, which offer personalized, concierge-style service for clients with “complex financial needs.” The bank operates 21 of these centers.

JPMorgan Chase serves about 86 million consumers and 7.4 million small businesses, and about 1 million customers visit the bank’s branches each day. The lender is working toward a long-term goal of capturing 15% of U.S. consumer deposits.

The bank, however, expects lower growth this year than originally projected. Marianne Lake, JPMorgan’s CEO of consumer and community banking, noted in December that yield-seeking behavior hasn’t moderated as much as the bank would have expected. 

For the fourth quarter, the bank’s average deposits in consumer and community banking rose about 1% year over year and remained flat quarter over quarter, at just over $1 trillion. 

In late 2024, Lake said the branch strategy is “a very long game,” and branches opened in the past five years had fueled the bank’s market share gains. Investments in branches break even in less than four years, she noted during the bank’s 2025 investor day. 

Bank of America, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, PNC and Truist have all sought to open new branches and renovate existing ones in recent years, particularly in high-growth areas such as the Southeast and Southwest. And Ohio-based Fifth Third and Huntington – regionals that have grown through recent acquisitions – have also doubled down on additional branches in areas like the Carolinas and Texas.