Photo: John Kopanski will lead the expansion.

Chase announced that it is opening new offices and hiring local bankers in Charleston, S.C. and Savannah, Ga. to serve small and mid-sized businesses in both cities and the surrounding areas.

Veteran banker John Kopanski will lead the Middle Market Banking team’s expansion into both markets by hiring local bankers to serve businesses with more than $20 million in annual revenues. The Middle Market Banking team is part of the firm’s Commercial Banking business, which operates in more than 50 of the top metropolitan areas across the U.S.

Chase will also hire a local executive to build out its Business Banking team to serve businesses with up to $20 million in annual revenues.

“Both cities have seen significant population and business growth over the last several years and their seaports help fuel their states’ economies,” said Clarence Nunn, head of Chase’s Middle Market Banking business in the Southeast. “We have been serving businesses in the Carolinas and Georgia for nearly a decade and are excited to build out local teams in these important coastal cities.”

The expansion into Charleston and Savannah builds on JPMorgan Chase’s long-standing and rapidly accelerating presence in the Carolinas and Georgia.

The firm opened a local Private Bank office in Charlotte, N.C. last year and has been growing its Commercial Banking business in the Carolinas over the last decade with offices in Charlotte, Raleigh, and Greenville. It currently has more than 100 employees working in the Carolinas.