💲 Wells Fargo, Bank of America Make Move Customers Will Hate, Branch Closings, Sign of the Times [View all]

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- 'Wells Fargo, Bank of America Make Move Customers Will Hate,' TheStreet, *May 21, 2023. - Shuttered bank branches are just a sign of the times. Ed. 💳

Bank branches are going the way of video stores and pay telephone booths, and there's nothing financial consumers can do about it.

In Philadelphia, Wells Fargo has closed 17% of its local bank branches since 2020. Regional kingpin PNC is not far behind, shuttering 15% of its branches in the Philadelphia area, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal. Bank of America has gotten into the act, closing 5% of its physical locations in the region, as well.

It’s not just a Philly problem. Big banks are closing branches in New Jersey, Maryland, Ohio, Washington, D.C., Illinois, and Michigan, as well as out west in Nevada, California, and Arizona. Bank branch closings are actually nothing new. According to the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Bureau (FDIC), large commercial U.S. banking locations have fallen from 8,000 in 2000 to 4,236 by 2021 and 4,194 by 2022.

The spider web of U.S. branch bank offices tied to big banks has slid significantly, as well. “US banks closed 149 branches and opened 49 in March, resulting in a total of 78,588 active branches,” S&P Global Market Intelligence data reported on April 28, 2023.
-- If the trend of current bank branch closings continues there may be no bank branches left in 10 years.

Self Financial estimates the number of U.S. bank branches will fall from about 60,000 in 2023 to approx. 15,660 in 2030 – & continue falling until there are no bank branches left by 2034. Why are so many bank branches closing & why is that pace of closing accelerating in the past several years? Bank executives say consumer attitudes have changed with the times.. the aggressive drawdown of in-person service will have negative consequences everywhere - but especially in rural, lower-income, & majority-minority communities...

- Read More, https://www.thestreet.com/banking/wells-fargo-bank-of-america-make-move-customers-will-hate
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- Also: 'Walgreens, CVS Close More Locations, Start Tmrw, RX Chains Mass Shutdns, Grocers: Retail Apocalypse,' https://www.democraticunderground.com/114231688