JP Morgan Chase has released details of 90 new branch openings in the US this year as part of its plan, announced in January 2018, to add 400 more branches to its network over five years.

This year’s 90 additions will be in nine new markets with a particular focus in three areas: Washington DC, Philadelphia and Boston, with a total of 700 new jobs being created.

However the bank, the biggest in the US by assets, is particularly targeting markets where rivals Bank of America and Wells Fargo are strong by adding to its network Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina; Greenville, South Carolina; Kansas City, Kansas; Minneapolis; Nashville, Tennessee; Pittsburgh; Providence, Rhode Island; and St. Louis.

In Charlotte, where Bank of America has its global headquarters, the lender has 81% market share and $158 billion in deposits, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Wells Fargo, second- placed in Charlotte, is leader in Raleigh and Greenville.

“There’s competition in every single one of these cities, whether it’s from big banks or smaller ones,” said Dan Deegan, JP Morgan’s head of market expansion. The bank already has hundreds of thousands of retail and business customers in these markets through private banking, commercial banking and credit-card relationships, he said.

University locations

JP Morgan’s expansion plan also includes adding branches in new locations close to large universities, including Auburn University in Alabama and the University of Nebraska, and expanding into these states more broadly in 2020.

Chase will enter each city with a mix of full-service branches that help customers and local small businesses with more complex needs, as well as smaller, digital-first locations. Customers will also have access to cardless ATMs that can perform more than 70% of teller transactions.

Bank of America is also bucking the trend towards smaller networks. Last year it announced plans to recruit more than 5,400 staff and open more than 500 new branches across the US, while refurbishing older locations.