Over the next few months, share prices of U.S. banks are likely to be in thrall to fears about the euro zone crisis.
One strategy for combating this uncertainty is to shutter bank branches and raise piddly ATM and checking fees across the board. But Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase’s chairman and CEO, is taking a different approach to the search for new revenue. Last month he announced the national rollout of the Chase Private Client division, which offers personalized banking to households with assets of between $500,000 and $5 million.
By the end of next year, the bank hopes to have as many as 750 Private Client offices, serviced by more than 1,000 bankers and 300-plus dedicated financial advisers. Customers will be guided into discreet areas within existing branches. And they won’t be charged the standard fees for using other banks’ ATMs. ....