US banks closed 51 branches in just three weeks - is your affected?
US banks closed 51 branches across the country in the first three weeks of June. The figures suggest banks are committed to increasingly offering their services online and axing costly bricks-and-mortar locations. More than 400 bank branches have closed so far in 2024.
In the weeks June 2 to June 23 Woodforest National Bank closed the most branches - 29 overall in states including Ohio , New York and Virginia . Bank of America also closed nine branches in the same period. Santander, Fulton Bank and Dream First Bank were also among those who announced closures.
New York was the worst hit state with eight closures in locations from Manhattan, Albany and Jefferson. In the same three weeks of June, a further 32 bank branches were opened, leaving a net nineteen closures.
JP Morgan Chase led the charge for openings, filing notices for thirteen new branches with the federal regulator. Each week, banks must tell the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) of branches openings and closures.
The last year in which the number of branches in the US increased was 2011, when there were more than 85,000 throughout the US, according to FDIC data. Since then the number has dropped steadily to about 70,000.
Most national banks like US Bank, Bank of America and Wells Fargo have become increasingly confident that online banking can meet most customers' needs.
Closures can lead to significant savings. The average freestanding branch costs $2.6 million a year to run, according to Bancography, an Alabama-based consulting firm that advises banks. Steven Reider, the founder and president of Bancography, previously told DailyMail.com that 'banks are willing to close a branch that isn't really overlapping any other branch on the gamble that customers are willing to drive a little bit further.' 'I think Bank of America has leaned into that more than the other large banks have,' he added.
Reider also noted that Bank of America's merger history has meant it ended up with branches in rural locations - yet the industry is undergoing 'a rural to urban conversion'. 'Every census since 1910 has shown a greater proportion of Americans living in in urban areas than the preceding census, so as we become an increasingly urbanized country the demand in these legacy rural markets just fades away,' he said. Ultimately, banks are looking to consolidate the markets they are already in, and that involves placing more focus on dominating in a handful of cities.
For example, Chase is moving into Kansas City with force, Fifth Third is making similar moves into Charlotte and PNC is targeting Austin. Though the number of bank branch closures started to ramp up through the 2010s, it was exacerbated by the pandemic, which kept people at home. In 2023, more than 1,500 bank branches were shut for good, with California and the Midwest worst-hit. See the boxes below for the latest closures and links to all weekly announcements this year.
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