Chase Bank to open second Del. branch Tuesday

WILMINGTON ““ Chase Bank will open its second branch in Delaware on Tuesday, with plans to open a third in the next few months.

Chase Bank will open its Brandywine Commons branch off U.S. 202 on Tuesday, Jan. 7, its second branch in Delaware. | DBT Photo by Jacob Owens

The Brandywine Commons branch, located at 1000 Rocky Run Parkway off U.S. 202, will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays to Fridays, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays, starting Jan. 7. It sits in the same shopping center as ShopRite, Burlington Coat Factory and The Tile Shop.

Chase currently operates a branch on North Walnut Street in Wilmington, at its corporate headquarters, as well as two standalone ATMs in Newark and Wilmington. The sole branch in state has about $76 million in deposits as of June 30, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The bank is currently planning to open a branch at 2400 Fashion Center Blvd. near the Christiana Mall in the first quarter of 2020, according to Ashlei Bobo, regional spokeswoman for Chase.

Both the Brandywine Commons and Christiana Mall locations are coming a few months behind the initial targeted openings of November and December, respectively.

A fourth branch at 840 N. Market St. in Wilmington, the site of a former WSFS Bank location at the corner of Market and 9th streets, is not scheduled to open until later in 2020, Bobo said.

Chase Bank will open this location at Christiana Fashion Center as it branches farther into Delaware. | DBT PHOTO BY JACOB OWENS

The openings are part of a wider expansion plan for Chase Bank, which announced last summer that it aimed to open 10-12 branches and more than 20 standalone ATMS in Delaware over the next five years.

The nation’s largest bank said in September 2018 that it plans to open 50 branches in the Philadelphia area over the next five years, a decision that analysts have said is counter to what Chase’s competitors are doing in terms of shutting branches and reducing hours as more customers turn to digital banking.

 “These initial locations will enable us to service our customer base that hasn’t had the opportunity to walk into a bricks-and-mortar location,” Michele Lawrence, Chase’s market expansion business and community development leader, told Delaware Business Times in August. “These locations were very intentional for employees, existing customers, and new acquisitions.”

Lawrence said Chase wants to “stay on the cutting edge” and offer “banking the way our customers want it,” explaining that millennials come into a branch at least once a quarter and 75% of its deposits come from people who have walked into a branch. The branches will include “digital bars” where customers can plug in their laptops and phones and learn how to use Chase’s online services.

Chase branches normally employ five to seven people and is paying entry-level employees a minimum $16.50 an hour wage with a full benefits package.

By Jacob Owens

jowens@delawarebusinesstimes.com