JPMorgan Chase

JPMorgan Chase & Co., often written as JPMorganChase, is a big banking company based in New York City and officially registered in Delaware. As of 2026, it is the largest bank in the United States and the largest bank in the world by value. It is one of the Big Four banks in America and is watched closely by financial leaders because of its size.

The company is located at 270 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. It was formed in 2000 when two banks, J.P. Morgan & Co. and Chase Manhattan Company, joined together. If we look back even further, its history goes back to 1799, when one of its older parts, the Bank of the Manhattan Company, started. J. P. Morgan began J.P. Morgan & Co. in 1871, creating what became known as the House of Morgan on 23 Wall Street.

Today, JPMorgan Chase is a leader in many areas of banking. It helps companies with important financial tasks like joining together in mergers, selling and buying investments, and offering services to the public. It also manages money for wealthy families and has a big team that looks after money for many people around the world. Through the Chase brand, it offers banking services and credit cards in many countries. With $4 trillion in assets as of 2026, it is also the world's fifth-largest bank overall and the largest investment bank by earnings. It is one of the top companies in the United States, ranking 11th on the Fortune 500 list and holding the top spot on the Forbes Global 2000 list for four years in a row.

History

JPMorgan Chase formed from the merging of several big U.S. banking companies starting in 1996. It includes Chase Manhattan Bank, J.P. Morgan & Co., and Bank One, along with parts of Bear Stearns, Washington Mutual, and First Republic. Earlier companies that joined together include Chemical Bank, Manufacturers Hanover, First Chicago Bank, National Bank of Detroit, Texas Commerce Bank, Providian Financial, and Great Western Bank. The oldest company in this group, The Bank of the Manhattan Company, started in 1799 by Aaron Burr.

Chase Manhattan Bank began in 1955 when Chase National Bank joined The Bank of the Manhattan Company. Led by David Rockefeller in the 1970s and 1980s, it grew to be a major bank. After facing trouble in the early 1990s, it joined Chemical Bank in 1996. Before merging with J.P. Morgan & Co., Chase expanded by buying Hambrecht & Quist in 1999 and Robert Fleming & Co. in 2000.

Chemical Bank started in 1823 and grew by joining with other banks, like Corn Exchange Bank in 1954 and Manufacturer's Hanover Trust Company in 1991. In 1996, Chemical Bank joined Chase Manhattan but kept the Chase name.

J.P. Morgan & Co. started from Drexel, Morgan & Co. in 1895. It helped create big companies like the United States Steel Corporation. In 1920, a bomb damaged its office. After rules changed in the 1930s, it split into J.P. Morgan & Co. and Morgan Stanley. It opened offices in many countries, including Japan, Australia, Indonesia, China, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Greece, Russia, and Nordic countries.

In 2004, JPMorgan Chase joined with Bank One Corp., bringing in Jamie Dimon as president and COO. Dimon became CEO in 2005 and chairman in 2006. Bank One Corporation started in 1998 from Banc One and First Chicago NBD.

In 2008, JPMorgan Chase joined with Bear Stearns to help during a financial crisis. They bought it for $236 million after agreeing to support all its business.

Also in 2008, JPMorgan Chase bought most of Washington Mutual after it faced big financial problems. They purchased the bank for $1.836 billion.

In 2023, JPMorgan Chase bought most of First Republic Bank after it also faced serious money issues. They paid $10.6 billion to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

In recent years, JPMorgan Chase has bought several companies to grow its business, like Collegiate Funding Services in 2006 and Bank of New York Mellon's retail banking in April 2006. In 2008, it got a $25 billion support from the U.S. government during the financial crisis.

In 2014, a big security problem happened where information from over 83 million customers was affected. In 2016, JPMorgan Chase decided to stop supporting coal mines and coal power plants in wealthy countries.

In 2019, JPMorgan Chase created JPM Coin, a special type of digital money for business payments. In 2021, they joined the UK retail banking market with a new app-based account under the Chase brand.

In 2022, JPMorgan Chase was ranked 24th on the Fortune 500 list. In 2023, they increased their share in a Brazilian digital bank called C6.

In 2025, Charlie Javice, founder of a company JPMorgan bought, was found guilty of fraud for lying about the number of users her company had.

In 2026, JPMorgan admitted to closing former U.S. President Donald Trump's accounts in 2021 after he alleged the bank gave him only 60 days notice.

Lawsuits and legal settlements by years

2001

Chase settled for over $2 billion for helping a big company hide its financial problems in 2001. Later, it paid more money to settle claims about giving bad advice to investors.

2002

Chase paid $80 million for giving bad advice to investors. This was part of a bigger group of banks that made the same mistake.

2005

Chase paid $2.2 billion for helping another company with its bonds. The company later faced big financial problems. Chase also said sorry for being part of a system that allowed slavery in the past and paid money to help Black students.

2009

Chase faced many lawsuits from people who said the bank changed the terms of their credit cards without telling them. Later, Chase paid $100 million to settle these claims.

2010

Chase was fined for not keeping customers' money safe in separate accounts, even though this put the money at risk if the bank had problems.

2011

Chase admitted to overcharging military families for their homes and wrongly taking some homes away. The bank paid $27 million to settle this and promised to forgive loans for affected military families.

2012

Five big banks, including Chase, agreed to a big settlement to help homeowners who were having trouble paying their mortgages. They also had to follow new rules for handling mortgages.

2013

Chase paid a large amount to settle claims about manipulating energy markets. The company also faced investigations about hiding information during these problems.

2014

Chase paid a big fine for not stopping a famous financial fraud in time. The bank also paid more money to settle lawsuits related to this.

2016

Chase paid a fine for agreeing to help friends and family of government officials in China to get jobs, which helped the bank get more business.

2017

The United States accused Chase of treating Black and Hispanic borrowers unfairly when giving out home loans.

2018

Chase paid a fine for mishandling certain investments without admitting to any wrongdoings.

2020

Chase said it takes serious issues like human rights very seriously and looks into companies it invests in to make sure they follow the rules.

2022–2023

Chase settled lawsuits for allegedly knowing about and not stopping certain illegal activities by a famous person. The bank agreed to pay a large amount of money to settle these claims.

2024

Chase faced legal problems in Russia and settled several cases with the U.S. government about misleading information given to customers.

2025

Chase planned to build a very big office space in London and faced a fine in Germany for not reporting suspicious activities properly.

Financial data

Note: Financial data is shown in billions of US dollars, and employee numbers are in thousands. For the years 1998, 1999, and 2000, the numbers include both Chase Manhattan and J.P. Morgan & Co. before they officially joined together in 2000. The information comes from the company's reports to the government each year from 1998 to 2020.

Structure

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has grown over time by merging with and buying other banks. In the United States, it owns two main banks:

• Chase Bank
• JPMorgan Securities, LLC.

The bank is divided into three main parts:

• Consumer and Community Banking (CCB) (Chase)
• Asset and Wealth Management (AWM) (J.P. Morgan)
• Commercial and Investment Banking (CIB) (J.P. Morgan & Chase)

JPMorgan Europe, Ltd.

Main article: J.P. Morgan in the United Kingdom

JPMorgan Chase started its European branch in 1968. It planned to build a new office in London in 2008 but later bought an existing building instead. Today, it has offices in several UK cities and offers banking services through an app under the Chase UK brand.

Acquisition history

JPMorgan Chase has grown by merging with and buying many banks over the years, including:

• Chase Manhattan Bank
• J.P. Morgan & Co.
• Bank One
• Bear Stearns
• Washington Mutual
• First Republic Bank

Political contributions

JPMorgan Chase's political action committee and its employees gave $2.6 million to federal campaigns in 2014. They also spent $4.7 million on lobbying during that time. Most of their donations went to Republican candidates, though some Democrats also received money from the company. Specifically, 78 House Democrats got contributions from JPMorgan's PAC in 2014, with an average of $5,200 each. The PAC also supported the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and leadership PACs of certain Democratic leaders.

Climate change

JPMorgan Chase has faced questions about its support for projects that use fuels that hurt our planet, even after global agreements to fight climate change. From 2016 to 2019, it helped fund projects like searching for oil in the Arctic.

In 2021, JPMorgan joined a group working to help the world cut down on harmful gases. In 2023, the bank bought special projects to help remove carbon from the air. In 2024, it also looked for ways to help shut down older coal power plants sooner.

Offices

The old Chase Manhattan Bank had its headquarters at One Chase Manhattan Plaza, now known as 28 Liberty Street, in Lower Manhattan. Today, JPMorgan Chase's temporary world headquarters are at 383 Madison Avenue. In 2018, JPMorgan announced plans to demolish its current headquarters building at 270 Park Avenue to build a taller, newer building. Demolition finished in spring 2021, and the new building is set to be completed in 2025. This new headquarters will be much bigger, fitting 15,000 employees compared to the current building’s 6,000.

Most of JPMorgan Chase’s North American operations happen in several buildings near Park Avenue in New York City. These include locations at 383 Madison Avenue, 277 Park Avenue, 237 Park Avenue, 390 Madison Avenue, and soon at 250 Park Avenue. The bank also has a very large office in Columbus, Ohio at the McCoy Center, which is the biggest JPMorgan Chase facility in the world. Other important offices are in Houston, London, and many cities across the United States and around the world.

Credit derivatives

JPMorgan's team was one of the first to create special kinds of financial tools called credit derivatives, such as the credit default swap. These tools helped companies manage risk when borrowing money.

In 2012, the company faced big financial losses because of some risky trading. This led to investigations by regulators and fines of $920 million. The company admitted to breaking some rules and learned from the mistakes made in managing these trades.

Art collection

Further information: J. P. Morgan § Collector of art, books, and gemstones

The art collection started in 1959 by David Rockefeller has grown to include over 30,000 items. Many of these are photographs, and the collection features works by artists from the Middle East and North Africa. The collection includes pieces from the Chase Manhattan Bank and the First National Bank of Chicago, which later became part of JPMorgan Chase.

Major sponsorships

JPMorgan Chase supports many important events and places around the world. It owns Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, home to the Arizona Diamondbacks. In San Francisco, California, it owns Chase Center, where the Golden State Warriors play. The company also supports Major League Soccer and runs the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge, a big running event held in many cities since 1977. It is the official sponsor of the US Open and supports sports events like the English Premiership Rugby 7s Series and a horse race in Lexington, Kentucky. It also sponsored a big event in Wilmington, Delaware in 2020.

Ownership

JPMorgan Chase is mostly owned by big investment groups, with more than 70% of its shares held by them. In December 2023, the ten biggest owners of the bank were:

• The Vanguard Group (9.46%)
• BlackRock (6.66%)
• State Street Corporation (4.35%)
• Morgan Stanley (2.25%)
• Geode Capital Management (1.92%)
• Fidelity Investments (1.83%)
• Bank of America (1.77%)
• Capital International Investors (1.44%)
• Wellington Management Company (1.38%)
• Norges Bank (1.23%)

Leadership

Jamie Dimon is the chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase. He joined the company after JPMorgan Chase bought another bank in 2004, and he became the main leader of the company in 2005. Dimon is known for guiding JPMorgan Chase through tough times, like the big money problems the world faced in 2008. During that time, the company helped support other banks that were struggling.

Board of directors

As of May 1, 2023, the group of leaders overseeing JPMorgan Chase includes:

• Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase
• Linda Bammann, former JPMorgan and Bank One executive
• Steve Burke, chairman of NBCUniversal
• Brad Smith, vice chair and president of Microsoft
• Alicia Boler Davis, CEO of Alto Pharmacy
• Alex Gorsky, former CEO and chairman of Johnson & Johnson
• Mellody Hobson, CEO of Ariel Investments
• Phebe Novakovic, chairwoman and CEO of General Dynamics
• Virginia Rometty, former chairwoman, president and CEO of IBM
• Michele Buck, former CEO, chairman and president of The Hershey Company
• Mark Weinberger, former global chairman and CEO of EY

Senior leadership

• Chairman: Jamie Dimon (since January 2007)
• Chief executive: Jamie Dimon (since January 2006)

Former chairmen

• William B. Harrison Jr. (2000–2006)

Former chief executives

• William B. Harrison Jr. (2000–2005)

Notable former employees

Many well-known people have worked at JPMorgan Chase in different areas.

Business

Some have led big companies or important bank roles, like Andrew Crockett who managed the Bank for International Settlements, and Dina Dublon who helped guide Microsoft, Accenture, and PepsiCo. Others became leaders in places like Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing or Wells Fargo.

Politics and public service

A number of former employees have served in important government jobs. For example, Tony Blair was the prime minister of the United Kingdom, and William M. Daley worked as both U.S. Secretary of Commerce and White House Chief of Staff. Others have held key positions in Scotland, Hong Kong, and the United States.

Other

JPMorgan Chase has also been a place where people from different fields began or continued their careers. Kabir Sehgal is an artist and author, and R. Gordon Wasson was known for his studies of fungi.