JP Morgan To Open 50 Branches In Philadelphia

(RTTNews) - JP Morgan Chase & Co., (JPM) the largest U.S. bank, announced its plans to open 50 branches in the Philadelphia area.

J.P. Morgan is opening 50 new branches in Philadelphia, Delaware and southern New Jersey over the next five years. The company said it is part of a plan disclosed in January to open 400 branches across the U.S.

The bank said it will hire up to 300 employees for the Philadelphia-area branches. Currently, the firm has nearly 5,100 branches in 23 states and plans to open 400 new branches and hire as many as 3,000 employees in new markets in the next five years.

"The Delaware Valley is an incredibly important market for us," said Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO. "We already have thousands of employees here that serve our customers every day. This will create even more well-paying jobs with healthcare and retirement plans for people in the area, and better serve our existing and new customers."

This expansion will add to the firm's current base of more than one million consumers and over 30,000 business clients in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley region.

The bank plans to invest $3 billion for mortgage and small business lending in the region over the next five years.

JP Morgan's decision to open new branches comes at a time when other US banks are closing down their branches to curb expenses as now more and more Americans are conducting their banking business online and on mobile phones.