JPMorgan Chase (JPM +0.30%) is the largest commercial bank in the U.S., with assets of more than $4 trillion. Chase Bank is the company's consumer and community banking subsidiary. Its other three segments are corporate and investment banking, commercial banking, and asset and wealth management.
JPMorgan Chase's roots go all the way back to 1799, when its earliest predecessor institution, The Manhattan Co., was founded. The founders of The Manhattan Co. included Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. Later, tycoon J. Pierpont Morgan joined Philadelphia banker Anthony Drexel to form a private merchant banking house, Drexel, Morgan & Co., in New York City in 1871.
The institution later became J.P. Morgan & Co. and went public in 1940. After merging with The Chase Manhattan Corp. in 2000, the company became JPMorgan & Chase.
Today, JPMorgan Chase remains a publicly traded company, which means its shareholders own it. The company trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "JPM." Since it's publicly traded, anyone with a brokerage account can invest in the stock and become a part-owner of JPMorgan Chase.