Wells Fargo has filed to close an additional 37 US branches, further accelerating America’s transition to automated banking.
Six brick and mortar locations in California will be affected — along with four in Florida and Georgia, respectively, three in Pennsylvania and others in a dozen other states, according to a bulletin published by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) this month.
All U.S. bank branch closures must be approved by the OCC, which oversees its records and evaluates the impact of those openings and closures on affected communities.
The latest round of closures comes as America faces a banking carnage as major corporations are closing branches and ATMs at lightning speed.
The OCC bulletin included requests from other banks, most notably Chase, to close around 7 p.m. Bank of America filed for four closures, while Capital One and PNC announced plans to do away with one each.
Wells Fargo has filed to close an additional 37 U.S. bank branches, according to a bulletin published by the OCC
Wells Fargo, which operates more than 4,000 branches in the US, has closed more than 100 branches this year alone, according to OCC data.
A spokesperson for the bank told DailyMail.com that while branches are closing in many regions, fewer are opening in a handful of successful markets.
“As the total number of branches continues to decline, new branches are opening in high-growth neighborhoods of existing markets, allowing us to provide more branch convenience,” they wrote.
‘We can also open new branches where we combine two older existing branches into one better located location. In addition, customers are using our wide range of digital capabilities for much of their banking, resulting in more out-of-branch transactions,” they added.
Commenting on the closure of a Pennsylvania branch earlier this month, a Wells Fargo spokesperson said closing locations was “not an easy decision or one we take lightly.”
“Branches continue to play an important role in how we serve our customers, and we are continually evaluating our branch network in light of changing customer needs, the increasing use of digital banking and market factors,” they added.
The declining number of bank branches means customers have to travel further to the nearest bank, leaving vulnerable and elderly people without a financial lifeline.
It comes after JPMorgan announced in June that it would cut a quarter of First Republic’s locations after acquiring the bankrupt company earlier this year.
In a statement to CNN, it said, “These locations have relatively low transaction volumes and are generally within a short drive of another First Republic office.
“Customers should expect to continue to receive the same level of service with seamless access to their money.”
JPMorgan agreed to buy First Republic’s assets in March following the government’s seizure of the regional bank. The first task was to downsize the company, including by cutting staff.
First Republic’s demise marked the second largest bank failure in US history, following in the footsteps of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.
According to the OCC bulletin, Chase filed to close about seven branches. Pictured are ATMs in one of the bank’s Midtown Manhattan branches
Bank of America wanted to close four branches across the country. Pictured is a branch in Daly City, California
The number of bank closures in the US rose to an all-time high in 2021 – with 2,927 branches closing their doors according to the latest data from S&P Global Market Intelligence data. This trend is expected to continue.
Wells Fargo & Co. reported the most net closures in 2021 with 267, followed closely by US Bancorp with 257 net closures. Huntington Bancshares Inc. reduced the footprint of its sites by more than 16 percent.
The five states hardest hit were California, with 269 branch closures; Michigan, with 247; New York, with 221; Florida, with 192; and Illinois, with 153.
US banks have been steadily automating financial services for years, but the change has been accelerated by the pandemic.
Concerns over Covid-19 transmission have discouraged households from exchanging cash and encouraged them to use digital payment apps such as Venmo and Block Inc.’s Cash App.
A Federal Reserve study showed a 12.4 percent increase in digital transactions in the first quarter of 2020 over the second.
According to figures from research organization Euromonitor International, the number of ATMs in the US has fallen from 470,000 in 2019 to 451,500 at the end of 2022.