Chase expands program for affluent Westchester customers

The success of the Chase Private Client program is behind a new push to expand its footprint in Westchester County.

Since the program launched in 2007, the number of offices has grown. There are 56 offices currently within the county and four more sites are expected to open by the end of the year.

“Westchester is a spot where we think it makes sense to present this type of offering to customers,” said Daniel Deegan, national director for Chase Private Client (CPC). “Obviously it”™s not unique to Westchester; there are a lot of places throughout the U.S. where we”™re located that we will offer Chase Private Client this year and beyond.”

CPC offices in Westchester County can be found in Yonkers, Hartsdale, White Plans, Larchmont, Mamaroneck, Harrison, Scarsdale, Hastings, Hartsdale, Dobbs Ferry, Irvington, Chappaqua, Ardsley, Pelham, Yorktown Heights, Bedford, New Rochelle, Croton on Hudson, Tarrytown, Katonah, Bronxville, Somers, Peekskill, Pleasantville and Thornwood.

The national program will have 2,000 locations by the end of 2013. In exchange for enrolling in the program, CPC customers, who have roughly $250,000 and $5 million in total wealth, enjoy benefits including waivers on non-Chase ATM fees and no charges on wiring money. Offices have CPC-designated areas to meet in-branch needs as well as expanded options for Internet and telephone banking and investment options, said Deegan.

“From an investment standpoint, you get an opportunity to get exposed to some products that historically have only been offered through the Private Banking,” Deegan said. He explained the program is both a banking product and an investment product.

Lauren Francis, spokesperson for JPMorgan Chase & Co., said the company understood affluent customers have different needs regarding banking products and services. Also, the wealth management industry is evolving and the company”™s research has shown that 70 percent of Chase”™s affluent customers want a primary provider to manage their entire financial relationship. Through the expansion of the program, Chase is responding to that specific need.

“We really want to make sure we offer the best thing for all our customers,” Deegan said. “Over time we realized that the set of customers who would benefit from working with Chase Private Client is an important subset of the existing customer base.” Deegan also said one size doesn”™t fit all, and the goal is to find the right way to service the varying types of customers that rely on Chase.

Chase serves more than 50 million customers, 2.4 million of who are considered affluent, giving customers an opportunity to manage more of their wealth from both investments and deposits.

So far the strategy of expanding the program is working, Francis said, as Chase has transformed the program from a concept to a working model with more than 1,200 locations and $65 billion in assets. The CPC base has grown from 15,000 to more than 100,000 customers since 2007.

Francis said Chase hopes to continue to deepen relationships with CPC customers through helping them consolidate balances and becoming their primary investment adviser ”“ all part of an effort to offer a “holistic” approach to banking, she said.