JPMorgan Chase & Co. saw an impressive 11% year-over-year growth of active mobile users, now totaling over 33.2 million, the bank disclosed today.
To put that growth into perspective, Wells Fargo today revealed 7% YOY growth in active mobile users during that period.
For JPMorgan Chase, this growth adds up to 2 million new users over the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2018. The bank now has 49.3 million digital users (online and mobile combined), compared with 46.6 million in 4Q17, or 5.6% YOY growth. JPMorgan has had the most mobile users among banks in the U.S. for years, and that shows no sign of changing.
Bank of America, which historically has trailed behind JPMorgan over the past few years, will reveal its numbers tomorrow. Citigroup posted higher YOY growth (12%) than JPMorgan Chase, but its overall number of users is lower.
Also Read: Wells Fargo’s 4Q Performance a Mixed Bag, but Indicates More Digital Migration
JPMorgan’s focus is clearly on being “digital everything,” as its chief financial officer, Marianne Lake, put it in the bank’s earnings call this morning. Both Lake and CEO Jamie Dimon mentioned that the bank added new branches in the fourth quarter as a part of its AdvancingCities initiative to improve customer service and customer relations.
Lake declared that during the call that the bank added 10 branches in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and Boston.
“In the fourth quarter, we opened Chase branches in new states for the first time in nearly a decade,” Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase chairman, and CEO, said in the call. “While it is early days, we’re seeing terrific results so far – and this is only the start as we continue to open branches in several new markets in the months and years to come. Our AdvancingCities initiative is supporting job and wage growth in communities that need capital the most.”
But a closer look at the financial documents reveals that the bank closed more branches than it opened. Last quarter, the bank had 30 fewer branches than it did in the previous quarter. According to the financial report, the bank had 5,036 branches in 4Q18, compared with 5,066 in the previous quarter.
JPMorgan reported net income of $7.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018 and $32.5 billion for all of 2018.




