Banker & Tradesman file photo

JPMorgan Chase is continuing to march forward on its branch expansion plans in Massachusetts.

The bank filed its six application this year with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on May 11 to establish its latest branch, this time at the intersection of Rockdale Avenue and Dartmouth Street in one of New Bedford’s southern neighborhoods.

The bank has filed five other applications for branches in Gloucester, Longmeadow, Marlborough, Waltham and Westfield so far this year.

The OCC has approved five new-branch requests from Chase so far this year: the Gloucester, Marlborough, Westfield and Waltham applications filed in 2023, plus an application for a branch in the Hanover Crossing mixed-use development that was filed in December of last year.

Chase has been seeking to open dozens retail branches in New England since 2019 as part of an effort to dramatically grow its local market share. The OCC has approved 50 such branches in Massachusetts in the last five years.

The megabank’s continued expansion comes even as it’s in the process of digesting First Republic Bank, sold to it by the FDIC after First Republic failed last month. It’s not clear what the future holds for First Republic’s handful of Boston-area branches; some could become Chase branches, some could be offices of its J.P. Morgan wealth management arm and some could close.