Wall Street bank to double community banking staff in push to reach 5 million Americans

JPMorganChase is planning to more than double its community banking presence across the US, hiring over 150 additional Community Managers and expanding its network of Community Centers as part of a push to bring financial health education to 5 million people.

The bank plans to create approximately 300 jobs and open new Community Centers in Phoenix, Riverside, California, and Huntsville, Alabama, and builds on a model first piloted when the firm opened its inaugural Community Center in Harlem in 2019.

In the branch's first five years, personal savings balances grew 73%, a figure JPMorganChase cites as evidence of what pairing a neighbourhood branch with dedicated community leadership can achieve. Chase currently operates 19 such centres, the majority in low- to moderate-income areas.

"The American Dream remains a powerful aspiration, but it has become increasingly difficult for many families to achieve upward mobility. We know what works; every day we see how access to knowledge, tools and trusted support can change the trajectory for individuals and families," said Jennifer Roberts, CEO of Chase Consumer Banking. "That's why we're scaling local support and practical tools to reach more communities and help more people build a secure financial future."

The expansion

Community Managers are locally hired professionals working across all lower 48 states. Their role is to assess local priorities and work alongside partner organisations to deliver tailored financial education programmes covering budgeting, credit building, homeownership and debt management.

Chase currently has 160 of these professionals; the expansion will roughly double that number.

"When one person gains the skills to budget, save and build for the future, the impact extends far beyond that individual — it strengthens families and communities," said Diedra Porché, Head of Chase Community and Business Development. "By expanding our community-based workshops and coaching, we're bringing practical financial education closer to home for more people. We've seen the power of this approach firsthand, and we're just getting started."

Fraud prevention is another pillar of the initiative. Since January 2025, Chase has delivered more than 2,250 scam prevention workshops and committed nearly $14 million in philanthropic funding to seven organisations working on consumer awareness and real-time fraud prevention. The firm says it prevented customers from losing nearly $25 billion to fraud and scam attempts last year.

School finance education

JPMorganChase is backing state-level moves to embed personal finance education in the K-12 curriculum and has joined the FinEd50 Coalition to support that effort.

The number of US states requiring a full semester of personal finance education for high school graduation has risen from 8 to 30 since 2020. The firm is also advocating for retirement system reforms aimed at widening access and helping retirees manage longevity risk.