Major US banks including Wells Fargo closed 33 branches in just two weeks

National banks closed more than 30 branches in just two weeks last month.

Chase, Bank of America, PNC and other national banks collectively closed 33 branches between July 14 and July 28.

Bank of America led the way with 11 branch closures, followed by Chase and PNC, which both closed seven.

Axiom Bank, Capitol, Citizens, Dollar Bank, Lemont, Wells Fargo and Zions Bancorporation also closed branches. Scroll down for the full list of addresses.

The hardest hit state was Florida, which lost four sites, while Ohio, Virginia and Texas lost three.

PNC and Chase each closed seven locations during the same period

Bank of America has closed more than 100 branches this year, the most of any national bank.

The closures represent about one-fifth of all closures in 2024.

Bank of America also told DailyMail.com that the bank had just completed a three-year project to modernize its physical presence in America.

A spokesperson for the bank told Dailymail.com that closures are usually the result of two branches merging into one.

“These shifts in our branch network reflect the fact that our customers are increasingly banking digitally for their everyday financial needs and coming to financial centres for more important needs or to have conversations about their finances,” the company said.

The bank indicated that there are still 3,800 branches.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) monitors the opening and closing of branches and publishes these in a weekly bulletin.

Major banks are increasingly moving away from expensive physical offices and instead opting for online services.

“The majority of Americans, from Gen Z to Baby Boomers, have less need for a traditional bank, which may explain the increasing number of brick-and-mortar branches that have closed over the past year,” Andrew Murray, chief data scientist at GOBankingRates, told DailyMail.com.

a recent research by GOBankingRates found that even seniors prefer online banking over banking in a physical branch.

In total, 78 percent of Americans prefer mobile and online banking, and nearly one in four have not visited their bank in the past year.

“It’s likely that overhead costs (rent, maintenance, supplies and staff salaries) are a big factor, especially since our research shows how few people visit a physical bank,” Murray said.

Closures can indeed lead to significant savings, as the average cost of operating a freestanding bank branch is approximately $2.6 million per year.

US banks closed 539 branches in the first six months of the year

Research by DailyMail.com found that US banks closed 539 branches in the first half of the year alone.

The hardest hit state was California in which 72 businesses were closed. New York ranked second with 51 closures, followed by Pennsylvania with 40.

“Over the past few years, we have been making changes to our branch network and may consolidate two older, existing branches into one better located location,” Wells Fargo told DailyMail.com.

“That does not detract from the importance of our customers and the communities we serve.”

The US bank also cited customers’ shift to online banking and a “desire for greater simplicity” as reasons for the mass closures.

“As we evolve together with our customers, we are re-evaluating our physical presence and in some cases consolidating branches in certain markets,” the bank said in a statement.