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

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

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. 

Bank of America filed to close two branches but in a rare turn of events filed to open five

Bank of America filed to close two branches but in a rare turn of events filed to open five

Citizens Bank also notified the OCC of two closures between April 14 and April 20

Citizens Bank also notified the OCC of two closures between April 14 and April 20

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.

ALL THE US BRANCH CLOSURES ANNOUNCED IN 2024 

Click on the links below - each article has the full list of closures for that time period

In January and February,  banks closed 222 branches

US Bank filed to shut 19 branches  between February 25 and 9

Wells Fargo filed to close eight branches between March 10 and 16

PNC, Citibank, Bank of America and Wells Fargo behind 20 branch closures between March 17 and 23

US banks had more openings than closures over a week (March 24 to March 30) for the first time in 2024

US Bank closes ten branches while Bank of America shuts three in the week from March 31 to April 6

TD Bank, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Chase shut a total of 36 branches between April 7 and 13 

 

What you can do if your local bank branch closes - read our guide

Chase will open 500 branches in the next three years

More than 1,500 banks were shut in 2023

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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.

Bank branch closures (April 14 - April 20) 
BankCityStateLocation
Bank of AmericaEl CajonCA512 Fletcher Parkway
Bank of AmericaDallasTX6085 Campbell Road
PNC BankWashingtonDC1348 Fourth Street, NE
PNC BankStirlingNJ1057 Valley Road
Citizens BankWellesleyMA390 Washington Street
Citizens BankGlen OaksNY257-15 Union Turnpike
Capitol Federal Savings BankLawrenceKS4505 W. 6th Street
First NB of Middle TennesseeNashvilleTN33 Music Square West, Unit 110B
JPMorgan ChaseDix HillsNY699 Old Country Road
State NB of GroomAmarilloTX101 South East 11th Avenue
Bank branch openings (April 14 - April 20) 
BankCityStateLocation
JPMorgan ChaseWestboroughMATurnpike Road and Otis Street
JPMorgan ChaseRaleighNCFayetteville Road and Shady Summit Way
JPMorgan ChaseEugeneORWest 11th Avenue and Bailey Hill Road
JPMorgan ChaseMelissaTXSam Rayburn Highway and Washington Dr
JPMorgan ChaseFredericksburgVAMonroe Pass Road and Spotsylvania County Parkway
JPMorgan ChasePapillionNE72nd Street and Peters Parkway
JPMorgan ChaseDoverNHWebb Place and Central Ave
JPMorgan ChaseAllentownPAAirport Road and Airport Center Road
JPMorgan ChaseProsperTXDallas Pkwy & Frontier Pkwy
JPMorgan ChaseChesapeakeVAGreenbrier Parkway and Eden Way North
Bank of AmericaBrooklynNY2095 Ralph Avenue
Bank of AmericaMaplewoodMN3035 White Bear Avenue N
Bank of AmericaDallasTX2408 McKinney Avenue
Bank of AmericaSt MatthewsKY4621 Shelbyville Road
Bank of AmericaHoustonTX110 S Wayside Drive
Community BankAmherstNY3150 Sheridan Dr.
Community BankBuffaloNY1091 Main Street
Community BankRochesterNY804 N Goodman St.
Community BankRochesterNY3330 Monroe Ave.
Community BankWebsterNY1900 Empire Blvd.
Fifth Third BankMelbourneFL3035 W New Haven Avenue
Fifth Third BankChapel HillNC1800 Fordham Blvd
Fifth Third BankGreenvilleSC3556 Pelham Road
Alerus FinancialShoreviewMN4100 Lexington Ave. N.
Coastal Carolina NBOrangeburgSC11807 Columbia Road
Wintrust BankChicagoIL935 W. Armitage Avenue

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