JPMorgan Chase Goes Old School to Find Growth

In 2018, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) announced a plan to add 400 branches in new markets over a five-year period. The move was part of an ongoing $20 billion investment by the banking giant intended "to help its employees, and support job and local economic growth in the United States."

With its existing 5,130 branches, JPMorgan already has a huge footprint in traditional retail banking. The move initially seemed like an odd one, especially considering the number of bank branches in the U.S. continues to decline as the financial services industry places more of an emphasis on fintech and remote banking. But JPMorgan saw the value of brick-and-mortar locations, and it makes sense to use them to grow and enter new markets even if bank branches today look different from what it was 10 years ago. 

JPMorgan Chase started with new markets such as Boston, Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia. In 2019, the bank entered another nine markets, including Minneapolis, Nashville, Charlotte, and Pittsburgh. While the branch investment is still developing, some early data suggest the company is off to a good start.

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Source Fool.com