OK, I hadn’t heard of it, but I’m not surprised. It’s a Washington area regional bank, and I would guess named directly for, or from the same source as the Maryland city. I wouldn’t call it a “really big” bank - it might easily get conflated in people’s minds with Chase, which is.
Chevy Chase Bank also appears (possibly) larger than it is due to the company’s aggressive approach to placing ATMs in public spots around the MD/DC/VA region. I swear their approach is to place on in every driveway, supermarket, and gas station in the area.
In 1967, I knew a girl at the U. of Evansville who was from Chevy Chase, Maryland. She pronounced it, “Chubby Chase,” with hard ch sounds in both words, like in chipmunk and itch. She also pronounced Baltimore as “Bawl-duh-mer.” I haven’t seen her since. She’s probably got grandchildren from 2 or 3 ex-husbands.
I knew it wasn’t Chase Manhattan because I used to work with them.
I think Chevy Chase Bank must be more than a regional MD thing; the only reason I know about it is because I see commercials for it out here in Arizona.
Nothing to add, except that IIRC, my answer in the thread cited by Earl Snake-Hips Tucker was my very first post to the SD.
Also, I have a savings account at Chevy Chase Bank.