You don't realize how useful your local bank branch is until it's no longer an option. The convenience of a 24-hour ATM or a trusted teller is hard to replace. But lately, banks in the U.S. have been shuttering their brick-and-mortar locations, leaning into the ongoing shift toward online banking. Two of the largest entities, Wells Fargo and Bank of America, are no strangers to branch closures, and now their lists of shuttered locations is growing.
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According to the Jan. 27 weekly bulletin from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Bank of America shuttered a total of nine locations last month. Five branches were closed in California, in South Lake Tahoe, Palm Desert, Culver City, Mission Viejo, and Sherman Oaks, per the bulletin. Two locations also shut down in Las Vegas—at the Round Forum Shops at Caesars Palace and the New York-New York Hotel & Casino—and individual branches closed in Kennesaw, Georgia, and Reno, Nevada.
In a statement to The Daily Mail, a spokesperson for Bank of America addressed the closures.
"What we're seeing across the industry is that our clients are using digital banking for more of their everyday needs," they told the outlet. "They only come into our financial centers when they want to have a conversation about their finances or something that's a little more complex."
Best Life reached out to Bank of America for comment, and will update the story when we hear back.
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However, Bank of America isn't alone in closing branches, as Wells Fargo also shut down quite a few locations last month.
Per the Jan. 27 OCC bulletin, Wells Fargo closed a dozen locations on Jan. 24. Three branches in California closed permanently, including locations in San Francisco, Redwood City, and Torrance. Florida lost four branches on the same day, in Hallandale, Plantation, Lakeland, and Naples. And three locations closed in Texas, in Hurst, Austin, and San Antonio.
Individual Wells Fargo branches also closed in Pennsylvania and Virginia—in Harrisburg and Williamsburg, respectively. Wells Fargo first informed the OCC of these closures in Oct. 2023.
"Branches continue to play an important role in the way we serve our customers in combination with our online and mobile channels and ATMs," Amy Amirault, vice president of consumer, small & business banking communications for Wells Fargo, told Best Life in a statement. "As customer preferences and transaction patterns change, so will our branches. Over the last several years, we have rightsized our branch network, and we may continue to combine two older existing branches into one better situated location. Doing so does not take away the importance of our customers and the communities we serve."
Amirault added that Wells Fargo offers different ways to bank, including in-person branches, as well as via mail, phone, online, or through the bank's mobile app.
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Wondering if there are more closures on the docket? If you're a TD Bank customer, you might want to prepare to find a new branch to frequent. Per the Jan. 27 bulletin, the bank has plans to close nine branches in April.
TD notified the OCC on Jan. 25, giving them a 90-day window to shutter the branches. Florida will lose two locations in Longwood and Deerfield, and South Carolina will also lose a pair Rock Hill and Maudlin. A branch is closing in Fairfax Virginia, too, as well as in Washington, D.C.; Bethesda, Maryland; Roseland, New Jersey; and Westtown Township, Pennsylvania.
In a statement to Best Life, a spokesperson for TD said the bank "continuously evolves its business" to better meet needs and expectations and "enable long-term growth."
"As part of this strategy, the bank regularly evaluates its physical store network and looks for opportunities to better align our network of stores to best serve our customers through an optimal mix of convenient TD Bank locations and digital banking products and services," the spokesperson continued. "As a result, we've made the decision to close nine locations across our U.S. footprint on April 26. We are committed to making this transition as smooth as possible for our impacted customers and colleagues and look forward to continuing to provide legendary service via whatever channel our customers choose."
