JPMorgan Chase to add branches

Traditional bank branches are disappearing in the United States at a rampant rate, but one company is bucking the trend by announcing plans to expand in Florida.

JPMorgan Chase marked its 10-year anniversary of entering Florida by announcing plans to add 35 new branches and hire about 200 workers to staff them over the next three years. Up to 10 of those branches will be in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties, said Michael Fusco, the company’s Southeast communications

director.

In February, the Wall Street Journal reported that more than 1,700 bank branches closed in the United States in the year between June 2016 and June 2017 — the largest decline on record. Customers’ preferences for using ATMs and online apps were noted as a driving factor, combined with loss of foot traffic at suburban locations.

Fusco said JPMorgan Chase’s branches differ from traditional bank branches because they are smaller — averaging five to seven employees per branch.

“We are continuing to open branches because we

want to give our customers choice in how, when or where they want to bank, whether it’s routine transactions through our digital channels, or coming into the branch for financial advice,” Fusco said by email. “Seventy-five percent of our growth comes from customers who use branches, and we’re seeing the majority of customers come into our branches four times a quarter.”

Fusco said he didn’t have information on specific locations where the new South Florida branches will be located. Currently, the company operates 200 branches in the tricounty region and 400 statewide. It

also operates 1,600 ATMs statewide.

The company entered Florida in 2008 when it bought Washington Mutual and has doubled the number of branches since, according to a news release. It has expanded into new markets, including Jacksonville, Gainesville and Ocala, and plans to open its first branch in Tallahassee by the end of the year, the release said.

“Florida continues to be one of our fastest-growing regions across the firm,” said Mel Martinez, the bank’s chairman of the Southeast U.S. and Latin America region, in the release.

JUSTIN SULLIVAN/GETTY In this file photo, a man walks by a JPMorgan Chase branch advertising that it’s hiring workers. The company announced Tuesday plans to add 10 new branches in South Florida over the next three years.