Bank of America, PNC, Citizens and Chase behind latest branch closures

US banks notified their regulator of 10 planned branch closures in a single week this month.

Among those shutting locations were Bank of America, PNC and Citizens - each of which announced the closure of two locations.

Meanwhile, Chase, Capitol Federal Savings Bank in Kansas, First National Bank of Middle Tennessee, and State National Bank of Groom in Texas reported one each in the week between April 14 and April 20.

The closures - published by their regulator the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency - were planned across California, Texas, Washington DC, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York, Kansas and Tennessee.

The closures mean that customers in the area will need to either drive further to another branch or turn to online banking for the majority of services.

It means banks have announced the closure of more than 300 branches so far in 2024 - see the boxes below for the latest ones and links to all the others this year. 

The closures this month however were overshadowed by a very large spate of 26 openings - a sign that the ongoing 'blood branch bloodbath' may be starting to slow.

This most recent week, Chase, which has already filed to open more than 50 branches this year, again led the pack in terms of new branches. It notified the OCC of ten openings in eight states.

Bank of America, which has a track record of mainly closing branches, and Community Bank reported five openings each.

Fifth Third Bank filed to open three locations and Alerus Financial, Coastal Carolina National Bank and Wintrust Bank each said they would open one.

For years big banks were consistently closing branches at a much faster rate than they were opening new ones, with rural and elderly communities impacted worst.

But last month, openings exceeded closures for the first time in months.

This year, Chase revealed it would open 500 branches by 2027, investing billions in cities like Boston, Charlotte, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and the DC area.

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.

In 2023, more than 1,500 bank branches were shut for good, with California and the Midwest worst-hit.