Ben Walter, CEO of Chase Business Banking, said the company is investing in San Francisco and the Bay Area because they believe in the strength of the region.
Lea Suzuki/S.F. Chronicle
JPMorganChase is hiring 50 local business bankers in San Francisco and Oakland and plans to boost local philanthropy by $2.5 million.
The country’s largest bank by assets is bullish on the Bay Area amid an artificial intelligence boom and looking to grow.
“We want to be the lead option for every kind of business and every consumer in this market, whether you are a startup, venture-backed by the biggest venture companies in the world, with the latest AI thing, or you’re the bakery at the corner,” said Ben Walter, CEO, Chase Business Banking.
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The Business Banking hiring is planned over the next five years and represents a 30% increase in the division’s local workforce. Those bankers work with entrepreneurs to provide financial advice and loans. JPMorgan currently has nearly 6,000 Bay Area employees. The bank laid off 99 San Francisco workers last year but is continuing to hire.
JPMorgan is also renovating its offices at 560 Mission St. and One Front St. On Wednesday, the bank is hosting a gathering for local entrepreneurs at the Midway, a San Francisco event venue. Nationwide, the bank plans to open more than 160 new branches in over 30 states this year.
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JPMorgan is also issuing grants totaling $2.5 million to help San Francisco small businesses, fill vacant retail spaces and fund downtown events. Recipients include culinary nonprofit La Cocina, manufacturer nonprofit SFMade, Advance SF and the Civic Joy Fund, which organizes the Downtown First Thursdays block parties. JPMorgan previously committed $3.8 million in local philanthropy last year.
“Philanthropy is great but it’s just a start … we want to have the philanthropy be a seed of something that can then become self-sustaining,” Walter said.
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Ben Walter, CEO of Chase Business Banking, said he has faith in the Bay Area’s resiliency as an economic powerhouse, even if there’s a correction in the AI sector.
Lea Suzuki/S.F. Chronicle
As part of that, the company is also expanding its Coaching for Impact training program for small business owners, with plans to graduate more than 1,200 entrepreneurs over the next five years. The program includes consulting, coaching and education around operations and growth.
Walter credits JPMorgan’s 2023 purchase of First Republic Bank for helping “turbocharge” its focus on venture capital-backed startups as well as the “mass affluent segment,” or wealthy consumers. That helped prompt the bank’s new Financial Center model catering to affluent consumers.
JPMorgan’s growth contrasts with San Francisco-based Wells Fargo, which has shuttered branches, laid off workers and cut its office space since the pandemic, including selling its former headquarters building last year. But, last June, the Federal Reserve removed a cap on Well Fargo’s assets, allowing the bank to grow its balance sheet.
“You want your competitors to be healthy … so the fact that Wells Fargo is healthy, I think is a good thing,” Walter said. “We do not root for our competitors to be in trouble. That’s not the way we want to win. We’d rather have a healthy ecosystem, and a healthy banking system is good for America.”
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Walter also said that while some jobs may be lost from AI, he believes it will be a catalyst for more hiring and growth.
“If AI means my bankers can be 20% more efficient, that means I want more bankers, not fewer. Because my biggest problem is that there is more opportunity out there than I can serve, not that I have too high a cost structure,” he said.
Walter also expressed faith in the Bay Area’s resiliency as an economic powerhouse, even if there’s a correction in the AI sector, which has seen a multitrillion-dollar investment spree.
“There might be a bubble, and if that happens, that’s OK because I’m not opening branches or hiring bankers for the next 18 months. I’m opening branches and hiring bankers for the next 10 years,” he said. “If there’s a bubble, it’ll pop and the system will reset … what I don’t see is a degradation of the overall ecosystem that allows the Bay Area to be a hotbed of innovation and business formation.”
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