The banking giant JPMorgan Chase & Co. plans to expand into the Maryland-Washington, D.C.-Virginia area first as it invests $20 billion in up to 20 new markets in the next five years, bank officials announced Thursday.
The New York-based bank, the largest in the nation, plans to open 70 new branches and hire up to 700 new employees in the region. It also plans to commit $4 billion for regional home and small business lending and increase its lending for affordable rental housing to $500 million in the region.
About 20 percent of the branches will be in low-to-moderate income communities in Baltimore and Prince George’s County in Maryland and in Washington.
“This is one of the most important regions in the country — stretching from Richmond to Baltimore — we now have the third largest economy in the United States and the seventh largest in the world,” said Peter Scher, chairman of the Mid-Atlantic region for Chase and its global head of corporate responsibility, in a statement.
The bank currently has more than 5,100 branches in 23 states and plans to open 400 more and hired 3,000 employees, including those in the region. It has been in the Washington area since 1999 and already has started work on new branches in the area, where it already has 250 workers.
“With this will come more than just new branches,” said Jamie Dimon, Chase’s chairman and chief executive officer, in a statement. “We will lend money for affordable housing, home mortgages and small business growth. We will help customers bank and save and support business clients, large and small. And we will combine the best of our business and philanthropy to help more communities benefit from regional economic growth.”
The bank also said it would increase its philanthropic investment to $25 million from $10 million now to “drive inclusive economic growth” in the region.
“Our administration is pleased that Chase is expanding its footprint in Maryland and bringing more jobs, affordable housing, and community investment,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said in a statement. “This is a terrific example of how Maryland is working with world-class companies to bring about real change and greater opportunities in our state and our region, from new jobs and workforce training to small business growth.”
Chase has assets of $2.5 trillion, just ahead of Bank of America Corp. with $2.3 trillion, Wells Fargo & Co. with $1.95 trillion and Citigroup Inc. with $1.8 trillion. Those four banks dwarf the competition, though Goldman Sachs Group with $917 billion in assets is closest to joining the trillion dollar club.
