Chase Expands Community Branches, Local Hiring to Improve Access to Banking and Financial Health 

April 19, 2022 - Chase today announced that it has hired more than 300 community-focused managers, home lending advisors and senior business consultants and opened or revitalized more than 300 community-style branches, including ten new Community Center branches, to help expand access to banking and boost financial health and inclusion among Black, Hispanic and Latino communities.

As part of the firm’s five-year $30 billion Racial Equity Commitment (“REC”), the bank has taken a grassroots approach in communities that have faced historical barriers to banking to help offer greater access to affordable home loans, low-cost checking accounts, and financial health education workshops. This includes local and diverse hiring, new or renovated branches, and free community programming for residents and small business owners.

“This work begins and ends with the community, from the employees we hire locally, to the environment we create in the branch, to the neighborhood organizations who have guided us along the way” Jennifer Roberts, CEO of Chase Consumer Banking. “Our work never stops, but we’re proud of the progress and impact that we’ve made so far.” 

Local market leaders help to grow, evolve and sustain this approach to community banking, including decisions on local hiring, banker coverage, branch locations and product needs. The bank also works locally with community leaders to listen and incorporate feedback to drive better outcomes for Black, Hispanic and Latino communities nationwide.

Community-Focused Roles

In October 2020, JPMorgan Chase created three new community-focused roles to help increase its presence and build trust in Black, Hispanic and Latino communities. Since then, the firm has hired more than 300 people¹ to fill these jobs, a number that continues to grow.

“We want to help revitalize communities across the country,” said Mark O’Donovan, CEO of Chase Home Lending.  “Our community leads are there to build trust with Black, Hispanic and Latino homebuyers, small business owners and local residents, and to provide better access to free financial health resources, expert advice and products that can help them grow wealth and preserve it for future generations.”

• Community Managers and Community Home Lending Advisors serve as local ambassadors to build and nurture relationships with residents, community leaders, real estate agents, and non-profit organizations. Over 80% of Community Managers are diverse, and all are local to the community they serve.
  These individuals host regular workshops – free of charge and open to the public – that focus on a wide range of topics like building a budget, saving for a down payment, and credit health while finding the right products and services to support individuals’ financial health goals. In 2021, the bank hosted 1,300 financial health workshops, including for new and first-time homebuyers, that have reached more than 36,000 people.
• Senior Business Consultants offer free one-on-one mentorship, coaching, and technical assistance to Black, Hispanic and Latino business owners. In 2021, the firm mentored more than 1,000 Black, Hispanic and Latino small businesses and hosted educational events, community workshops and business training seminars with over 28,000 participants across 14 U.S. cities. The program has since expanded to 21 cities and recently graduated its first 115 mentees from the program.

“Through our mentorship program, we are helping minority-owned small businesses access more opportunity, scale their operations, and become sustainable economic anchors for their neighborhoods,” said Ben Walter, CEO of Chase Business Banking. “Successful business owners often cite mentors as a key ingredient in their winning formula, and we are proud to be able to share our resources and expertise with entrepreneurs in these communities.”

Community Branches

Chase opened its first Community Center branch in Harlem, New York in June 2019 and has since expanded to 11 additional cities, with plans to open five more in Atlanta, Baltimore, Miami, Philadelphia and Tulsa by the end of the year.

Community Center branches are locally-inspired and built with extra space to host free community events and financial health workshops, skills training and provide a storefront for small business pop-ups. They often include local artwork and architecture, and the majority are built with minority contractors as part of the firm’s efforts to engage more diverse vendors.

Community Center branches include:

• Crenshaw, Los Angeles, California: Co-located with several non-profits, including the LA Urban League and Brotherhood Crusade, the Crenshaw Community Center branch sits across from cultural landmarks like Leimert Park, a center of historical and contemporary art, music and culture in Los Angeles.
• Oakland, California: One of the most ethnically diverse cities in the U.S., Oakland is rich in culture, mounted in art and music. The Broadway & 30th Community Center branch can be found in the Piedmont neighborhood and is furnished with reclaimed redwood and an eagle, reproduced from plywood art during the racial injustice protests in June 2020, that is prominently placed in the center of the branch.
• Stony Island, Chicago, Illinois: Near the Obama Presidential Library and Tiger Woods’ Public Golf Course, the Stony Island Community Center branch sits in Chicago’s South Side and originally opened in 1994. Redesigned as a Community Center in 2021, the branch features several pieces from artists showcased through ArtLifting, a program that empowers artists living with homelessness or disabilities.
• Gentilly Woods, New Orleans, Louisiana: Adjacent to Pontchartrain Park, a subdivision built in the 1950’s that symbolizes the American Dream can be a reality for all Americans, the Gentilly Woods Community Center branch is located in District 6 in New Orleans. While the area was one of the hardest hit neighborhoods after Hurricane Katrina, the branch Community Center offers cohort workshops and recently celebrated their first graduating class through a close partnership with Tulane Canal Neighborhood Development Corporation.
• Mattapan, Boston, Massachusetts: In a neighborhood with a prominent population of Haitian and Caribbean American descents, the Mattapan Community Center branch features a Haitian-inspired mural, created by local student art apprentices, of community members who work, live and shop in the local square.
• Corktown, Detroit, Michigan: While in the oldest existing neighborhood in Detroit, the Corktown Community Center branch is a relocation of the Trumbull Porter branch and sits near Michigan Central Station and the Detroit Police Athletic League’s Corner Ballpark. Featuring a combination of bespoke art and salvaged artifacts, including wood and marble from a local bowling alley, the branch has partnered closely with ArtLifting, a platform for artists facing homelessness and disabilities.
• Ventura Village, Minneapolis, Minnesota: Located in Ventura Village, home to one of the largest East African and American Indian populations in the city, the Community Center branch partners with Indego Africa, a social enterprise that focuses on transforming the lives of women, youth and refugees across Africa through economic empowerment and education. The branch features graphics on both interior and exterior walls from Juxtaposition Art, a non-profit youth art and design education program in Minneapolis.
• Harlem, New York, New York: As Chase’s first ever Community Center branch, the Harlem location offers a blend of the city’s rich history, art and architecture, including reclaimed vault and elevator doors. The branch also features an on-site Innovation Lab to get real-time customer feedback on prototypes.
• Akron, Ohio: Paired with The Lebron James Family Foundation’s House Three-Thirty, the Akron Community Center branch is located in the Goodyear Heights neighborhood. Surrounded with art from local elementary students showcasing the spirit of the city, the branch has deep connections with the I PROMISE School, located less than one mile away, The Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce and The Akron Bounce Incubator.
• Oak Cliff, Dallas, Texas: Showcasing murals painted by local artists that address themes of connectivity, individuality and vulnerability, the Oak Cliff Community Center is located in the Southern Dallas community. Within one mile of the revitalized Bishop Arts District, home to 60 boutiques, restaurants and shops, the branch partners with organizations like the Dallas Entrepreneur Center and Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber. Supporting local veterans and seniors, the branch often delivers supplies–from sweet treats to toiletries–to local churches and the VA hospital.
• Fifth Ward, Houston, Texas: Partly built with reclaimed materials from historic Houston neighborhoods and furniture from a local craftsperson, the Lyons & Lockwood Community Center branch is located in the Fifth Ward. The branch has continued to serve the community after overcoming catastrophic hurricanes and floods, including offering redevelopment funding to assist with homebuyer promotion and preservation, along with disaster preparedness and personal readiness plans.
• Skyland, Washington D.C.: The Skyland Community Center branch is in the heart of lower Ward 7 and borders Ward 8, located in Hillcrest, nicknamed “The Silver Coast.” The branch features a triptych, three art panels hinged together side-by-side, designed by Arts on the Block, a youth and young adult visual art apprenticeship program.

In the last year, the bank has also revitalized over 300 community-style branches in low-to-moderate or majority-minority tracts to include dedicated space for financial health events and workshops open to the public.

This progress is reported as part of JPMorgan Chase’s 2021 Environmental, Social and Governance Report issued today, which includes updates on the firm’s $30B REC through 2021.

Click here to see Chase’s Community Center branches in action. To learn more about Chase’s Community Banking team, please visit: chase.com/communityteam.