Last week, Chase cut the ribbon on its newest branch in the St. Louis metro area, a 3,000- sq. foot location at MLK Plaza (3625 Page Blvd.) in the Covent Blu-Grand Center neighborhood. Chase also announced it is accelerating its expansion into the market and will bring its total branch count to more than 30 by 2025 – 24 percent more than originally committed. In addition to the branch in the Covenant Blu Grand Center neighborhood, Chase has opened branches this year in downtown St. Louis, Fenton, and Webster Groves.
“Brown and Black people need to be a part of the dialogue,” – Raquel Oden, Managing Director, Head of Network Expansion, Chase
“Our approach to our branch expansion is rooted in the belief that we need to have a meaningful presence in the communities we serve in order to make a lasting impact,” said Racquel Oden, Head of Network Expansion, Chase. “For us, our expansion isn’t just about building branches; it’s about working together with our local team to identify the best ways to help more people and more businesses build a secure financial future.”
Speaking about the crowded group at the grand opening, Oden said “It’s not a stadium, this is not a museum,” she said. “It’s a bank branch. But I think you guys realize how important it is to ensure that we as a community understand the importance of financial health, financial literacy, but more importantly, wealth creation.”
Oden emphasized that part of Chase’s mission is to work with individuals that are underbanked and underserved, letting those individuals know that they “matter.” “Brown and Black people need to be a part of the dialogue,” Oden said. She said that branches need to be a part of the community, including hiring people from the local community. Oden says that 30 percent of Chase’s branches are in low-to-moderate-income areas.
Chase has now opened 20 branches in the St. Louis metro area since opening their first in Kirkwood in 2019. They are hiring local bankers, branch managers and financial advisors who are dedicated to expanding access to financial resources and boosting financial health.
Among the local organizations Chase works with are STL Jobs, Better Family Life, Cardinal Ritter, Wesley House and the Boys & Girls Club of Greater St. Louis.
Oden stressed that the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs in the country right now are Black women. To highlight that point, Chase hired Sweets to Remember, a Black owned bakery company owned by Abeela Jetton, to provide sweets for their ribbon cutting ceremony and grand opening pf the branch at Page and Grand.
