To boost financial inclusion and economic growth in underserved communities, Chase is opening 500 new branches, renovating roughly 1,700 existing ones, and hiring 3,500 employees over the next three years.
Chase is specifically targeting new markets that lack traditional banking services, such as rural and low-to-moderate income communities. It will also expand its presence in Boston, MA, Charlotte, NC, the greater Washington region, Minneapolis, MN, and Philadelphia, PA.
“We work with government and community leaders to help drive sustainable impact,” said Marianne Lake, CEO of Consumer & Community Banking, in a prepared statement. “We provide local expertise and support through our branches; we lend to local businesses of all sizes, create jobs and long-term careers, and finance vital amenities that are the cornerstone of healthy neighborhoods such as hospitals, schools, transportation and grocery stores.”
Meanwhile, Across the Pond…
Chase’s investment in physical locations seems counterintuitive amid the banking industry’s fervent race towards digitization.
UK banks, for example, have accommodated the surge in mobile and online banking services. According to Which?, a consumer advocacy organization which has kept tabs on the UK’s bank closures since January 2015, a total of 5,600 bank branches have shuttered, at an average of 54 per month. Barclays had the most branch closures at 1,077.
Many consumers and businesses in the UK still rely on local branches to conduct their financial business. Although shifting efforts to a more digitized banking experience is where the industry continues to head, there are those in rural areas that don’t have access to reliable internet—or in some cases, aren’t able to use the technology.
Chase is taking on a multi-prong approach, striking strike a balance between adopting digital trends and reaching communities that still rely on physical branches.