Bank branches are disappearing

bobcat

bobcat

Well-known Member
Location
Northern Calif
The U.S. lost a net total of more than 300 bank branches in 2025, with hundreds more branches that close each year than open. Between 2017 and 2025, the national branch network shrank by 14.8%, dropping from 86,469 to 73,649 locations, and physical in-person branches have been trending downward since 2012.

This isn't a problem with the health of the banking industry; it is more of a behavioral shift in how it's done.
In short, the expenses of having a physical bank outweigh the net gain from it. There is too much cost pressure.
More people are turning to online banking and the convenience of it. You can deposit checks, do money transfers, withdrawals, get loans, and even have the bank handle your bill paying, and some even have investment portals for stock trades.

This trend parallels the shift towards online shopping. Behavioral changes mean changes in the physical landscape. Bank branches will still exist for some needed face-to-face transactions, but people may have to drive farther to make that happen. There will be some "banking deserts". It's a sign of the times.
 

You think that's bad ?... since 2016 we have lost almost 7,000 Banks

There's hardly any left.

This small market town at one time for many years had 8 banks... now we have just one,. My own bank has gone, and the next town East where there was a branch closed 6 months later, then the branch going west in a town 10 miles away also closed, so now if I want to visit a branch of my bank I have to travel 30 miles.. and that will be closing soon too..

The ultimate aim is to get people no longer using cash. This way they get everyone using card, and shopping online... eventually there will be no physical money ..it will all be digital figures on paper.

This is why it's imperitive people continue where possible to use cash, because once there is no cash, you and your money are at the mercy of the government. They can block your accounts whenever they want to .. and stop you having access to your money from your bank account..

In China they already do this for any transgression. They literally put an embargo on people's accounts who maybe have committed a small crime for example.. ..or freeze them for small transgressions

The point is once they go completely digital, and they will as soon as there are no bricks and mortar banks, and there's no longer access to cash then your life is not your own, and your money will certainly not be.. either ..the governement will completely rule your life
 

Not around my area. In smaller towns, there will always be a need for banks. I totally disagree with more people are turning to online banking. I laugh whenever I see those silly commercials for online banking. No way. I will always prefer a face to face relationship with an actual living teller. People are set in their ways, especially those of us born in the 40's, 50's, & 60's. We will always prefer a bank. A lot of us don't have smart phones anyways.
 
I seldom go to the bank anymore, but when I do, I need them. Having said that, I'm a big fan of on line banking. After the internet slowly devolved into an advertising gimmick, I often thought of on line banking as the only highly useful internet invention, and useful in a very big way. On line shopping comes next, but IMO not in the same ballpark.
 
Many of the big banks have merged or taken control of the smaller banks. Branches closing has been going on for some time and not just in 2025. When I lived in Virginia, I banked at Wells Fargo. They had 2 branches within 5 miles of my home. Today, they are both gone. One was closed in 2022 and the other was shutdown in 2024.
 
I had to put this in Google translate cause after a few sentences thinking: Do they make banks from branches there? How do you get them loose or do they steal the whole bank? I realized you were not talking about these:

1000042237.jpg


Oh wait that's a bench! In Dutch it's a bank.
 
hollydolly said:
You think that's bad ?... since 2016 we have lost almost 7,000 Banks

There's hardly any left.

This small market town at one time for many years had 8 banks... now we have just one,. My own bank has gone, and the next town East where there was a branch closed 6 months later, then the branch going west in a town 10 miles away also closed, so now if I want to visit a branch of my bank I have to travel 30 miles.. and that will be closing soon too..

The ultimate aim is to get people no longer using cash. This way they get everyone using card, and shopping online... eventually there will be no physical money ..it will all be digital figures on paper.

This is why it's imperitive people continue where possible to use cash, because once there is no cash, you and your money are at the mercy of the government. They can block your accounts whenever they want to .. and stop you having access to your money from your bank account..

In China they already do this for any transgression. They literally put an embargo on people's accounts who maybe have committed a small crime for example.. ..or freeze them for small transgressions

The point is once they go completely digital, and they will as soon as there are no bricks and mortar banks, and there's no longer access to cash then your life is not your own, and your money will certainly not be.. either ..the governement will completely rule your life
Click to expand...
Excellent point
 
Paladin1950 said:
Not around my area. In smaller towns, there will always be a need for banks. I totally disagree with more people are turning to online banking. I laugh whenever I see those silly commercials for online banking. No way. I will always prefer a face to face relationship with an actual living teller. People are set in their ways, especially those of us born in the 40's, 50's, & 60's. We will always prefer a bank. A lot of us don't have smart phones anyways.
Click to expand...
Same here.
We have more banks and bank branches than ever in my area.
It is a running joke that the only new commerce we get is banks, car washes, and auto parts stores.
 
In the nearest small town, population 2100, there used to be two commercial banks and a credit union, all branches. One bank and the credit union closed. Now, instead of driving five miles to use their services, I drive thirty miles, one way.

I do not use online ANYTHING if it involves my financial accounts. For internet shopping, I use a credit card issued by a bank in which I have no other accounts; they do not have any of my money, just the charge account, so if there is a problem, they cannot take it from an account to pay it. If my phone, computer or any other electronic device is hacked, there is NO information on it about finances. Or healthcare. I refuse to give any of them my email address. Send a paper statement.

I file my taxes on paper, too. By reading the tax guide, I learn things that I wouldn't know when filing electronically. Electronic filing is a dumbing down of one's knowledge of the tax code. When I mail the tax filing, I send it registered mail, return receipt requested so I have proof that the IRS and the state received it.

I cash a check once or twice a month for groceries, clothes, everything except normal housing expenses (mortgage and utilities are paid by mailed checks).

I don't know what to do when (not if) we are forced into digital currency. Surely there will be a way around it since the ultra wealthy elites will not tolerate that kind of control?
 
hollydolly said:
You think that's bad ?... since 2016 we have lost almost 7,000 Banks

There's hardly any left.

This small market town at one time for many years had 8 banks... now we have just one,. My own bank has gone, and the next town East where there was a branch closed 6 months later, then the branch going west in a town 10 miles away also closed, so now if I want to visit a branch of my bank I have to travel 30 miles.. and that will be closing soon too..

The ultimate aim is to get people no longer using cash. This way they get everyone using card, and shopping online... eventually there will be no physical money ..it will all be digital figures on paper.

This is why it's imperitive people continue where possible to use cash, because once there is no cash, you and your money are at the mercy of the government. They can block your accounts whenever they want to .. and stop you having access to your money from your bank account..

In China they already do this for any transgression. They literally put an embargo on people's accounts who maybe have committed a small crime for example.. ..or freeze them for small transgressions
a
The point is once they go completely digital, and they will as soon as there are no bricks and mortar banks, and there's no longer access to cash then your life is not your own, and your money will certainly not be.. either ..the governement will completely rule your life
Click to expand...
Well, when I think about it, I can see both sides with valid points. If you go to a retail establishment and pay with cash, then they need to keep cash on hand for change, watch for counterfeits, have registers, and store it in a safe at the end of the day. Then they have to pay an armored service to come for pick up, or they have to make a trip to the bank for regular deposits.

On the other hand, when you pay with a card, the money is electronically transferred, which eliminates a great deal of hassle. Still, I get your point, but I wonder where one would keep their cash if not in a bank where it could be seized if one were to do something illegal. Besides, most cash is just a piece of paper with a number on it that only has value because we collectively agree on it.

It may be that this is just a change that will happen regardless and resistance is futile.
 
I think one reason there are fewer banks is because of the rise in digital banking. I do as much banking as I can without having to go to the bank. My monthly check from the government is on direct deposit and the receipt is paperless because it is sent to me by the computer in an email. Any other checks I get are deposited by using the app on my cellphone. About the only time I go to the bank is to get into my safe deposit box.
 
Several years ago it was gas stations on every corner that were closing, dry cleaners quietly disappearing, recently it has been drug stores and bank branch offices, times change.

I haven’t been inside of a bank since the beginning of The Pandemic.

Everything is done online with the exception of a trip or two to the ATM for a bit of cash.

What will be next to go as the world continues to evolve?🤔

Maybe the world needs fewer car dealerships or fast food outlets.
 
Some services have limited to no capability online: applying for a mortgage or credit card, lost or damaged ATM cards, safe deposit box access, presentation of death certificates for deceased account holders, collecting funds on POD accounts, fraud review, retirement fund manager, exchanging currency denominations, setting up new accounts, IRA rollovers, and larger cash withdrawals than ATM machines allow - all of those came to mind just typing this up without researching anything - so there must be more.

The most favored bank in my town, privately owned and in business for over 100 years, has 2 locations. I suppose they could close one of those, but I've heard no suggestion of it. At least one of their branches will most likely be open for a very long time to come.
 
Banks and credit unions up here still arrange mortgages, and personal & business loans. But banks and credit unions are both changing, banks probably more so. Credit-union companies are merging, and then confronting labor-union issues and strikes.

Banks now are shells of what they were 10 or even 5 years ago. The ATM is the most active "employee" in the bank (same in a credit union nowadays):LOL:. Banks used to have trained personnel who offered and explained investment plans. I get the idea they offer a lot less of this now. And tellers are now very few, and seem to have a level of training not much greater than a big-box store check-out cashier; a member of a tiny management staff seems to have a limited role of very occasionally advises a teller about some wicket transaction.
 
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There are five banks in walking distance to me (probably because of the over 8000 old people living here), but when I needed some tens in place of twenties none of the banks would do it because I didn't have an account with them (and none of them had any other customers, just lonely looking employees).

I really like Venmo and Zelle apps, it makes it so much easier to reimburse each other for lunch if the restaurant won't do separate checks, and its nice to have such a fast way to transfer money (as long as it isn't to a scammer).
 
bobcat said:
The U.S. lost a net total of more than 300 bank branches in 2025, with hundreds more branches that close each year than open. Between 2017 and 2025, the national branch network shrank by 14.8%, dropping from 86,469 to 73,649 locations, and physical in-person branches have been trending downward since 2012.

This isn't a problem with the health of the banking industry; it is more of a behavioral shift in how it's done.
In short, the expenses of having a physical bank outweigh the net gain from it. There is too much cost pressure.
More people are turning to online banking and the convenience of it. You can deposit checks, do money transfers, withdrawals, get loans, and even have the bank handle your bill paying, and some even have investment portals for stock trades.

This trend parallels the shift towards online shopping. Behavioral changes mean changes in the physical landscape. Bank branches will still exist for some needed face-to-face transactions, but people may have to drive farther to make that happen. There will be some "banking deserts". It's a sign of the times.
Click to expand...
Maybe they'll have in person drive thru tellers and online banking available as opposed to a fully operational bank.
 
When you think of the money they spend to pay employees and utilities and more and more people are using online banking which the banks themselves encouraged, it isn't totally unfeasible that they may opt to redesign the banking so that people still have some sort of in person option that costs them less.
 
JBR said:
Banks and credit unions up here still arrange mortgages, and personal & business loans. But banks and credit unions are both changing, banks probably more so. Credit-union companies are merging, and then confronting labor-union issues and strikes.

Banks now are shells of what they were 10 or even 5 years ago. The ATM is the most active "employee" in the bank (same in a credit union nowadays):LOL:. Banks used to have trained personnel who offered and explained investment plans. I get the idea they offer a lot less of this now. And tellers are now very few, and seem to have a level of training not much greater than a big-box store check-out cashier; a member of a tiny management staff seems to have a limited role of very occasionally advises a teller about some wicket transaction.
Click to expand...
They still offer investment advice, but they just handle it differently. The bank contracts with a reputable investment professional, so when you call the bank regarding this, they set up a phone appointment with you and the investment person. They give you the person's name, their company, and the time they will be calling, and you can even go to their web page to check them out. They also offer self-directed investment plans, if you prefer to do it yourself and know what you would like to invest in.
 

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