Bank branch closures are commonplace these days, as corporations pare down their brick-and-mortar footprint and shift toward online banking. But while Wells Fargo is certainly not the only major bank that has shut down locations in recent months, it's notable for having closed hundreds of branches over the past several years. In fact, in 2021, it closed more in-person locations than any other bank, CNBC reported. Just a few weeks ago, Wells Fargo shuttered another 10 branches. Read on to find out where the latest closures took place.
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New Jersey and Pennsylvania lost a handful of branches each.
Supamotion / ShutterstockAccording to the Sept. 23 Weekly Bulletin from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), 10 additional Wells Fargo branches closed late last month.
New Jersey lost three branches: one each in Verona, Robbinsville, and Elizabeth. Pennsylvania also lost two locations: one in Allentown, and another in Quarryville.
In a statement to the Central Penn Business Journal regarding the Pennsylvania closures, Wells Fargo said it "made the difficult decision to close the North Seventh Street branch in Allentown and the Quarryville branch on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023."
The bank cited nearby branches and reminded customers they "can use each branch and bank with us as they always have." The company added, "Branches continue to play an important role in the way we serve our customers, and we continuously evaluate our branch network in light of changing customer needs, the increase in the use of digital banking and market factors.”
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Five other states had isolated closures.
Jonathan Weiss / ShutterstockAlso included in the OCC bulletin were five other Wells Fargo branches. These locations were in New Bern, North Carolina; Nampa, Idaho; Wasilla, Alaska; Ogden, Utah; and San Francisco. Per the bulletin, these five branches also closed on Sept. 20.
“Branches continue to play an important role in the way we serve our customers in combination with our digital channels and ATMs," Amy Amirault, Wells Fargo's assistant vice president of Consumer, Small & Business Banking Communications, said in a statement to Best Life. "As customer preferences and transaction patterns change, so will our branches. For example, we may open new branches where we combine two older existing branches into one better situated location. All of this does not take away the importance of our customers and the communities we serve."
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Wells Fargo isn't alone in shutting down locations.
ShutterstockOther major banks, like PNC and JPMorgan Chase, were also included in the Sept. 23 bulletin.
JPMorgan Chase closed seven Chase Bank branches on Sept. 19, including two locations in Boston; four locations in New York; and one location in Wilson, Wyoming. (However, the OCC document also lists eight new Chase branches that were established on the same day.)
According to the bulletin, PNC closed four branches total in Charlotte, North Carolina; York, Pennsylvania; Gloucester City, New Jersey; and New Haven, Indiana, on Sept. 22. U.S. Bank also closed three branches between Sept. 18 and 21—one each in Cincinnati; Richmond, Indiana; and Pueblo, Colorado.
A full list of branch closures, relocations, and openings can be found in the OCC bulletin.
More closures are on the docket this month.
iStockAs previously reported by Best Life, branch closures aren't slowing down. In addition to shuttering two branches on Sept. 13, Wells Fargo is shuttering another two locations in New Mexico tomorrow. The Richmond, Virginia, area is also losing two Wells Fargo branches in the near future, one on Oct. 18, and another on Nov. 1.
And Bank of America is closing at least 12 different locations in California through the end of October, Newsbreak reported, while City National Bank, Santander, Chase, and First Citizens, also have closures planned.
