Report: Banks Close 79 Branches Over 6 Weeks in Cost-Cutting Move
As banks increasingly shift to digital services, banks have closed 79 U.S. branches in just six weeks across various states, according to the U.K.’s Daily Mail.
More than 400 brick-and-mortar branches have been shuttered this year, the outlet reported Wednesday.
JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, BankUnited, BMO Bank, Citizens Bank and Inwood NB were among those who announced closures.
The Daily Mail provided a comprehensive list of the locations that are closing for anyone wishing to identify whether they will be affected.
California saw the greatest number of closures, according to the report.
JPMorgan shut down 18 branches; Wells Fargo shuttered 17, including eight in just the past week; and Bank of America filed to close 16 locations in states across the country, including California, Florida and New Jersey.
According to the consulting firm Bancography, the move is part of an attempt to consolidate locations, which yields significant annual savings, while appealing to a shift from rural to urban markets, the Daily Mail reported.
In January and February, 222 banks closed their branches across the United States.
Between April 7 and 13, TD Bank, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase shut a total of 36 branches.
The last time the number of bank branches increased was in 2011, when there were more than 85,000 branches nationwide, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
That number has since decreased to about 70,000.
Didn’t know there were 70,000 bank branches in the US … pic.twitter.com/rOlNSjTHle
— Aurelius (@Aureliusltd28) February 11, 2024
One of the demographics that will be most affected by the move from brick-and-mortar banks to online banking is older members of the population who are not as fond of digital banking.
It also will impact local communities and businesses — and we may be witnessing the bitter end of traditional banking.
Each week, banks must tell the Treasury Department’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency about branch openings and closures.
In January, Republic First Bank, which was operating in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, was seized by the FDIC and sold to Fulton Bank.
Republic Bank’s 32 branches were set to reopen as Fulton Bank branches.
The failure, which will cost the deposit insurance fund $667 million, followed a trend of regional banks struggling due to higher interest rates and commercial real estate loan issues.
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