Whilst most banks are closing branches, JP Morgan Chase are opening new ones in the USA. Why? My LinkedIn friend Arcady Lapiro, CEO and founder of Agora, explains:
Wondering where JPMorganChase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon will be jet-setting in the next couple of weeks? Here’s a hint: think "Small Town, USA." Kicking off today, Jamie’s hitting the road on his 14th annual bus tour. First stop: Iowa, where Chase aims to sprout 25 new branches by 2030. This week, he's also planning to charm the socks off folks in Minnesota, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, and Arkansas. Buckle up, middle America—Jamie’s coming to town! See here https://lnkd.in/euEFUbNd
Despite the rise of digital banking platforms like Chime, Current, Revolut, and Cash App by Block, traditional branches are still a key part of Chase’s strategy. While many banks are closing branches to focus on digital services, Chase is bucking the trend. They've announced plans to open over 500 new branches, renovate approximately 1,700 locations, and hire 3,500 employees over the next three years.
By the end of 2023, JPMorgan Chase had the largest branch network with 4,897 branches. Chase is also the first bank to have branches in all 48 contiguous states. In 2017, half of the U.S. population lived within a 10-minute drive of a Chase branch; this has since increased to 60%, with a target of reaching 70%.
At Chase's investor day in May, they highlighted their goal of a 15% deposit share, with branch expansion being a critical part of that strategy. Impressively, 80 of Chase's 220 basis points of deposit-share gain between 2019 and 2023 came from branches less than a decade old—showing that nearly 40% of their deposit share gains are linked to new branches.
What gets me in this never-ending debate, is that some people believe bank branches are irrelevant, undesirable, too much cost; whilst others say it differentiates them, adds an additional access point and serves the community.
The views are extreme.
I would come back to basics and say it’s all about the customer and the customer experience.
Chris M Skinner
Chris Skinner is best known as an independent commentator on the financial markets through his blog, TheFinanser.com, as author of the bestselling book Digital Bank, and Chair of the European networking forum the Financial Services Club. He has been voted one of the most influential people in banking by The Financial Brand (as well as one of the best blogs), a FinTech Titan (Next Bank), one of the Fintech Leaders you need to follow (City AM, Deluxe and Jax Finance), as well as one of the Top 40 most influential people in financial technology by the Wall Street Journal's Financial News. To learn more click here...
