Chase doubling presence in Twin Cities, adding 30 bank branches

JPMorgan Chase is once again upping its expansion plans for the Twin Cities with a new target of more than 60 locations in the region by the end of 2027.

That would double its current footprint in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. And it would put Chase in a neck-and-neck race with Huntington Bank to be third-largest bank by number of locations in this market.

U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo, the dominant players in the region, each have roughly 80 branches in the Twin Cities.

Chase — the largest bank in the U.S. — has been aggressively pushing into this region in just the last few years. It opened its first branch in the Twin Cities at the University of Minnesota in 2019.

In late 2022, Chase announced plans for at least 40 branches in the region.

Its rapid expansion stands in contrast to many other banks, which are opening fewer new locations or closing branches as online banking becomes more popular.

The plan for additional Twin Cities locations was announced Tuesday as part of a nationwide initiative by Chase to add 500 more branches in the U.S. The Minneapolis-St. Paul region is one of the bank’s five focus markets, along with Boston, Philadelphia, Charlotte, N.C., and Washington, D.C.

“It is significant,” Patty Gilman, regional director for Chase in Minnesota, said of the expansion. When people make important financial decisions, “they want to see people, so we have a strong belief in our branch system.”

She added that the bank has been well received in the Twin Cities, and its goal is to be located within 10 miles of every customer in the U.S.

Over the past five years, Chase has added more than 650 branches and expanded to 25 new states. It’s the first bank to now be in all of the continental 48 states. It has more than 4,700 branches in the U.S.

Last year, Chase pulled out of a project to have one of its branches in a mixed-use development in north Minneapolis. Spokesman Brian Hanover declined to discuss that particular situation, noting that the company does not speak publicly about business deals until they have been approved.

The bank declined to give details on where the new branches will be, but officials said they want to put branches everywhere they have customers, including in “important neighborhoods like north Minneapolis.”

One of the branches Chase has opened in Minneapolis is on Franklin Avenue in the neighborhood of Ventura Village. That location is a community-focused branch that hosts community events and financial workshops.

As part of its expansion, Chase plans to hire about 300 people in the Twin Cities over the next three years.

It has also stepped up its philanthropy in the region. Since 2019, it has committed more than $17 million to community groups, including a $5 million grant to support local female business owners through the St. Paul-based Center for Economic Inclusion.