JPMorgan Chase is opening more small-town branches in middle America
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Three years ago, JPMorgan Chase became the first bank with a branch in all 48 contiguous states. Now, the firm is expanding, with the aim of reaching more Americans in smaller cities and towns.
JPMorgan recently announced a new goal within its multibillion-dollar branch expansion plan that ensures coverage is within an «accessible drive time» for half the population in the lower 48 states. That requires new locations in areas that are less densely populated — a focus for Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon as he embarks on his 14th annual bus tour Monday.
Dimon's first stop is in Iowa, where the bank plans to open 25 more branches by 2030.
«From promoting community development to helping small businesses and teaching financial management skills and tools, we strive to extend the full force of the firm to all of the communities we serve,» Dimon said in a statement.
He will also travel to Minnesota, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas and Arkansas this week. Across those six states, the bank has plans to open more than 125 new branches, according to Jennifer Roberts, CEO of Chase Consumer Banking.
«We're still at very low single-digit branch share, and we know that in order for us to really optimize our investment in these communities, we need to be at a higher branch share,» Roberts said in an interview with CNBC. Roberts is traveling alongside Dimon across the Midwest for the bus tour.
Roberts said the goal is to reach «optimal branch share,» which in some newer markets amounts to «more than double» current levels.
At the bank's investor day in May, Roberts said that the firm was targeting 15% deposit share and that extending the reach of bank branches is a key part of that strategy. She said 80 of the firm's 220
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