JPMorgan Chase is doubling down on its branch expansion strategy again, bucking the banking industry’s consolidation trends by unveiling plans on Wednesday to open more than 160 Chase locations this year, including eight in Massachusetts.
The New York-based financial services giant had no Chase branches in Massachusetts (or in several other New England states) before launching an aggressive rollout here — along with the Philadelphia and Washington metro areas — that began nearly eight years ago.
Chief executive Jamie Dimon has been pursuing an unusual strategy for growth, particularly amid the rapid rise of mobile banking. While banks sometimes open new standalone branches, most of their branch network growth typically occurs through acquiring smaller banks. But JPMorgan is boxed in by federal regulators because it holds at least 10 percent of the country’s deposits; exceptions are allowed when acquiring a struggling or failing bank, as happened when JPMorgan picked up much of First Republic in 2023.
By the end of 2026, Chase will have 100 branches across Massachusetts, around the same number as Eastern Bank. The new ones in Greater Boston will include 250 Cambridge St. (Beacon Hill) and 6 Francis St. (Longwood) in Boston, 146 Church St. in Pembroke, 180 Main St. in Saugus, and 108 Main St. in Medway, according to a list provided by a bank spokesperson. Other branches are planned in Clinton, Springfield, and South Attleboro.
This is in line with growth plans for Massachusetts that JPMorgan Chase announced two years ago, when it increased its ultimate goal for the state to have around 110 branches here.
JPMorgan billed the 2026 rollout as a multibillion-dollar investment, a figure that includes the cost of the 160-plus new branches across 30 states and 600 branch renovations. The rollout will require the bank to hire 1,100 new employees; Chase branches are typically staffed by eight to 10 people.
Dimon has made it clear he wanted Chase to be the first bank with branches across all 48 contiguous states, a milestone he achieved in 2021.
In 2018, during a visit to Boston, Dimon said he would not be satisfied until his bank was among Boston’s top three banks. He’s made considerable progress toward that goal after starting with almost no market share. With the recent merger of Brookline Bank and Berkshire Bank, Chase moves into eighth place in the city and 14th in the metro area.
However, it’s still well behind market leaders Bank of America, Citizens Bank, and Santander Bank. In mid-2022, before the First Republic acquisition, Chase had $1.9 billion in deposits in the Boston metro area, while First Republic had $18 billion; as of mid-2025, Chase’s number in the region had grown to $4 billion, according to federal banking data. Many First Republic customers stayed, but many big accounts left as well amid the 2023 turmoil, and Chase returned to its growth strategy of adding more customers, branch by new branch.
Jon Chesto can be reached at jon.chesto@globe.com. Follow him @jonchesto.
