US banks close 79 branches in just over a month – Daily Mail

US banks have closed 79 branches in just six weeks as the industry moves more to offer online services.

The figures suggest that costly store closures will continue, bringing the total number of store closures to more than 400 by 2024.

California has been hardest hit by the recent closures, with 20 stores registered as closed between April 20 and June 1.

JPMorgan led the way in closing 18 branches at its Chase retail unit, followed by Wells Fargo with 17 more closures, eight of which were in the past week.

Bank of America has filed to close 16 branches in states across the U.S., including California, Florida and New Jersey.

BankUnited, BMO Bank, Citizens Bank and Inwood NB were among the banks announcing closures.

The closures, reported to federal regulator the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), mean customers in the area will have to drive to another branch or rely on online banking for most services.

Banks must report their branch openings and closures to the OCC on a weekly basis. The bank said it would open 57 branches in the past six weeks of reporting. The openings and closures could happen in the coming weeks or months.

Banks have announced plans to close more than 400 branches so far in 2024. See the box below for links to the latest and everything else this year.

According to FDIC data, the last year the number of branches in the US increased was 2011, when there were more than 85,000 branches nationwide. Since then, branch count has steadily declined to about 70,000.

Most national banks, including U.S. Bank, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, are increasingly confident that online banking can meet the needs of most customers.

Closing branches can lead to big savings: The average cost of operating a stand-alone branch is $2.6 million a year, according to Bancography, an Alabama-based consulting firm that advises banks.

“Banks are prepared to close branches that don’t really overlap with other branches, betting that customers will be willing to drive a little further away,” Stephen Ryder, founder and president of Bancography, previously told DailyMail.com.

“I think Bank of America is more inclined in that direction than other large banks,” he added.

Ryder also noted that with the banking industry undergoing a “rural-urban shift,” Bank of America’s merger history means the bank will end up with rural branch locations.

“Every census since 1910 has shown that a higher percentage of Americans live in urban areas than the previous census, and as the country becomes more and more urbanized, the demand for these traditional rural markets is only going to fade,” he said.

Wells Fargo has closed 17 branches in the past six weeks, with eight of the closures announced in the final week of May 27-June 1.

Ultimately, the bank is looking to consolidate its existing markets, which includes focusing more on dominating in a few cities.

For example, Chase has made a strong push into Kansas City, Fifth Third has made a similar push into Charlotte and PNC is targeting Austin.

The number of bank branch closures began to rise throughout the 2010s, but the situation was exacerbated by the pandemic, which kept people confined to their homes.

More than 1,500 bank branches will permanently close in 2023, with California and the Midwest being hit the hardest.