LOS ANGELES (AP) – JPMorgan Chase & Co. said Monday it plans to open about 175 more branches nationwide this year, including more than 80 in California, the latest sign that the bank hopes plain-vanilla lending will fuel its future growth.

Chase, the consumer banking arm of New York-based JPMorgan Chase, currently has about 5,510 branches, up from about 5,270 a year ago.

Rival Bank of America Corp., meanwhile, has been trimming its branches, though it still has more than JPMorgan. The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank has about 5,700 branches, down from about 5,860 the previous year.

If JPMorgan tops Bank of America in number of branches this year, it will be the second crown that the New York bank snatches from the Charlotte bank in as many years. Last year, JPMorgan topped Bank of America as the nation's largest bank by assets.

JPMorgan is eager to expand in consumer banking as new regulations crimp investment banking practices that used to be big revenue generators, like certain structured investment vehicles. Bank of America, on the other hand, which expanded greatly in 2008 with its purchase of mortgage lender Countrywide, is scaling back after that move brought quarterly losses and regulatory headaches.

San Francisco-based Wells Fargo, which greatly expanded when it bought Wachovia in 2008, has about 6,240 branches, more than either JPMorgan or Bank of America.

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