US banks had more openings than closures over a week for the first time in 2024 - is there hope the relentless shuttering of branches is over?

US banks reported more branch openings than closures in the latest weekly report - giving hope it is a potential turning point for the industry.

Chase, Associated Bank, City National Bank of Florida, Citizens and Wells Fargo all notified their regulator of a total of six closures between March 24 and March 30. 

Banks reported ten openings, of which Chase accounted for four. It is the first time there has been higher number of branch openings than closures this year.

Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate, said last week's blip is unlikely to be much more than that - ending hopes the bank branch bloodbath is over.

The latest closures brings the total number announced so far in 2024 to 294. Scroll down to see the most recent closures and openings, plus links to all the others this year.

Chase filed to open four branches in a single week but notified its regulator it would close two

Wells Fargo closed notified the OCC of more than 300 closures in 2023 but just one last week

As well as Chase's four new branches, six other banks announced they would each open one, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's latest bulletin.

These are Bank of America, Capital Bank, City National Bank in California, Fifth Third, First National Bank of Texas and Investar Bank.

Some hope it is a sign that the recent avalanche of closures, which began more than a decade ago but was catalyzed by the pandemic, is starting to slow.  

But McBride said: 'Even if branch openings outnumber branch closings in a brief window of time, the prevailing trend of consolidation in banking institutions and branches will remain.

'The long-term trend toward fewer branches and the strategic location of new branches remains intact.' 

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. 

McBride noted that despite the closures, and the fact that an increasing number of banking services can now be offered online, many Americans are still keen on branches.

'The growth of banking transactions done digitally has diminished the amount of traffic into branches, but the desire for branch access remains high,' he said.

In a survey of savers, Bankrate found the top reason savers keep money in their current bank rather than open an account with an online bank is the preference for access to a local branch.

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.

And while banks have been aggressively shutting their branches, credit unions appear to have been bucking the trend.

The number of credit union branches has increased over the last decade, according to a DailyMail.com analysis.

Some 4,800 credit unions now cater to 135 million Americans and operate around 20,700 branches across the country - that is 500 more than there were in 2023.