JPMorgan Chase & Co. said Tuesday that it will close 300 branches by the end of March.
The New York company is planning to close 400 branches tied to the September purchase of Washington Mutual Inc.'s banking operation. A spokesman for JPMorgan Chase said the remaining 100 branch closures will happen later in the year.
Of the branches to be closed this quarter, 88 are in Texas, 73 in the New York area, and 57 in the Chicago area, the spokesman said.
JPMorgan Chase was allowed to opt out of Wamu branch leases because it bought assets out of receivership in a government-brokered transaction.
According to the spokesman, JPMorgan Chase will conduct system conversions in markets such as Chicago and New York in July, and at that point more branches could close.
