Chase Bank plans to open two new branches in Central Oregon by late next year, which would make eight branches in the region for the nation’s second largest banking company.

By the third quarter of 2012, Chase plans to build a new branch in Bend on Northeast U.S. Highway 20, west of 27th Street, and another at 1826 N. U.S. Highway 97, on the north side of Redmond near Walmart.

Both will be full-service outlets, providing personal and business banking, mortgage lending and investment services, said Ray Lindley, Oregon and southwest Washington market manager for JPMorgan Chase, the parent company of Chase Bank.

To staff the branches, the bank expects to hire up to 20 employees next year, many from the region, Lindley said.

While Central Oregon continues to struggle economically, Lindley said, Chase sees growth in the region’s future.

“We still believe that in the long run, it’s a great community and will rebound,” he said.

The two new branches will be among 13 to 15 that Chase plans to open statewide next year, on top of six it expects to have operating in Oregon by the end of this year.

In its 2010 annual report released in April, the company said it would dramatically increase its branch openings, jumping from 120 a year on average to more than 200.

Linda Navarro, president and CEO of the Oregon Bankers Association, said Chase Bank’s expansion means more competition, which benefits consumers.

“I think it’s really good for Central Oregon to have branches opening in the market,” said “It gives consumers more choice.”

Chase already has six branches — three in Bend, two in Redmond and one in Prineville — but it only entered the local market in fall 2008 when it took over the failed Washington Mutual Bank.

At the time, WaMu, which had 2,200 branches and assets of $309 billion, was the largest bank in U.S. history to fail, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

JPMorgan Chase had assets of $2.24 trillion, as of June 30, making it the second largest bank holding company in the nation behind Bank of America, according to the Federal Reserve.

As one of the largest, JPMorgan Chase participated in the U.S. Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program, receiving $25 billion from the federal government in October 2008. It repaid the money less than a year later, in June 2009.

The economic crisis that led to the TARP program led to other changes in Central Oregon’s banking portfolio. Three Oregon banks based in Central Oregon or conducting significant business here — Community First Bank in Prineville; Columbia River Bank in The Dalles and LibertyBank in Eugene — failed between August 2009 and July 2010.

Home Federal Bank of Nampa, Idaho, bought Community First and LibertyBank. Columbia State Bank of Tacoma, Wash., took over Columbia River Bank.

Chase Bank’s expansion plans also come about a month after Lake Oswego-based West Coast Bank said it would close its two Bend branches, one on Southwest Century Drive, and one on Dean Swift Road on the east side.

Navarro said banks have been re-evaluating their territories, with some closing and others opening. As a whole, however, Oregon’s financial industry benefits when banks of all sizes compete in the market. She believes the proposed branches in Bend and Redmond will be positive for Central Oregon.

“The investment Chase plans to make is further evidence of the vibrancy of the community,” Navarro said.