JPMorgan Chase to close around 1,000 branches amid coronavirus pandemic

JPMorgan Chase is set to close about 1,000 bank branches to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. 

The bank currently has over 5,100 branches across 38 U.S. states. On Wednesday, it informed employees that around 1,000 of them will be closed in light of the escalating epidemic, as the Financial Times reported.

Meanwhile, employees working at the rest of the branches can choose to work from home. 

According to the Financial Times, most retail banks in the U.S. are still operating as usual. Wells Fargo, for example, is keeping “a vast majority” of its branches open while instituting preventive measures including “enhanced cleaning programme in all properties, installing hand sanitiser stations in our branches and encouraging social distancing.”

Bank of America and Citigroup are also keeping their branches open, according to their spokespeople.  

Richard Hunt, chief executive of the Consumer Bankers Association, revealed to the Financial Times that over 99 percent of bank branches in the US are open. In the meantime, some branches have shifted to drive-through services, he said, and a number of branches around college campuses are closed.