A decade after Chase Bank entered the Jacksonville market with plans to build a branch network, parent company JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced an expansion of its presence in Northeast Florida.
The New York City-based company said Jan. 31 its Chase Bank subsidiary will open 10 more branches in North Florida and hire more than 100 people over the next three years for those offices and other needs.
JPMorgan Chase has about 1,700 employees in the Jacksonville area, many of them in a large mortgage operations center.
The company’s bank had 20 branches in the market as of June 30, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data.
“The recent growth of the region has spurred us to invest in North Florida to meet the financial needs of the region’s growing base of residents and businesses,” said George Acevedo, South Divisional director for Chase’s Consumer Bank, in a news release.
“We know our customers can do transactions digitally, but they need people to meet their financial goals,” he said.
The expansion plans include Chase’s first branches in Nassau County, planned in Fernandina Beach and Yulee.
The bank also said it will open two branches in low-to-moderate income areas in Jacksonville and St. Augustine.
In addition, J.P. Morgan Private Bank, which serves ultra-high net worth clients, is opening its first office in the region in the Veranda Business Center along Florida A1A in Ponte Vedra Beach.
JPMorgan has been a major employer in the area since 2008 when it acquired the failed Washington Mutual Bank, which had a large mortgage banking center in Jacksonville.
Chase Bank had one branch in the region at the mortgage center, mainly to serve its employees.
However, in mid-2013, JPMorgan announced a push into the consumer banking market, saying it would open a dozen branches in the Jacksonville area in 18 months.
Chase Bank has more than 4,700 branches across the country.
JPMorgan Chase is one of the largest banking companies in the world with $3.9 trillion in assets.