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Chase prepares for significant expansion in '07
Austin Business Journal - January 5, 2007
by Giselle Greenwood
ABJ Staff

JPMorgan Chase Bank NA is looking beyond Austin's city limits for its next growth opportunities. The New York-based bank is planning to open six new branches this year, the majority of which will be located in the region surrounding Austin.

Chase has branches scheduled to open in Round Rock, Kyle, Pflugerville and Taylor, and two in Austin.
The six branches planned for 2007 are double the number the bank opened in 2006. In 2006, Chase only opened three new branches and all three of those were in areas outside of Austin proper -- one in Buda, one in Leander and one in the Four Points area close to Lake Travis. The bank plans to have five sites approved for 2008.

Chase opened 8 locations in 2005. In 2005, the bank opened outlets in Georgetown, Hutto and Round Rock, as well as several within Austin.

Eusebio Rivera, senior vice president and market manager at JPMorgan Chase, oversees retail branch expansion in the Austin and San Antonio areas. Rivera says the region outside of Austin is a key area of growth for the bank.

"Clearly, we want to be where our customers want to be," Rivera. "If you look at the areas surrounding Austin, they're booming."

Last year, the areas surrounding Travis County became a focal point for the bank. Rivera says before the Buda branch came online last year, the southernmost branch of Chase was at I-35 and Stassney Road.

Rivera says that previously, Chase retail branches were mostly located in the inner city. But in the past five years or so, the region has spread beyond Travis County with more people commuting into town from cities outside of Austin.

"We're expanding to the suburbs because we're seeing huge growth in those areas," Rivera says. In Central Texas, Chase has about 500 employees.

JPMorgan Chase is the third-largest bank in the Austin-Round Rock area, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. JPMorgan Chase had deposits of $2.6 billion in the Austin market as of June 2006.

The bank had 50 branches at the end of 2006.

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