Chase closes 36 site of WAMU

JPMorgan Chase & Co. will close 36 Houston-area branches operated by Washington Mutual Inc. as part of a national consolidation.
A spokesman for Chase Bank said Wednesday that 36 of 111 WaMu branches in the region will close by the end of March.
Chase Bank began the process of identifying WaMu branch closures nationwide after its parent company, JPMorgan Chase, acquired WaMu in 2008 after the Seattle financial services giant filed for bankruptcy protection.
Chase already has 145 branch offices in the Houston region, meaning that after the consolidation the combined Chase-WaMu entity will have 220 branches, making it clearly the largest bank ranked by deposits in the market.
By mid-year, the remaining WaMu branches will be converted to Chase branches.
The combined Chase-WaMu financial giant has about 6,900 employees in the Houston region and 25,000 in Texas. Across the state, Chase intends to close a total of 88 WaMu branches and keep 169 open.
In addition, Chase intends to open five new branches in the Houston area by the end of 2009.
The spokesman said virtually all of the affected WaMu employees will be retained when the branches close. For more information on these site call or email ; www.houstonrealtyadvisors.com or www.houstonrealtyadvisors.net