Bank of America Announces Closure of Nearly Two Dozen Locations in Single State, Pledges ‘Robust’ Presence Moving Forward

In one of the most populous states in the union, Bank of America has revealed that it is shutting down close to two dozen ATMs.

This week brought more bad news for the Bay Area, California, as Bank of America stated that it will eliminate a total of 20 branches and ATMs in the next ninety days. The closures will include sites where “client traffic has diminished significantly.”

As required by law, the chain submitted a report verifying the closures to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

SFGate was informed by Bank of America spokesman Colleen Haggerty that the bank has about 200 banking centers in the Bay Area.

“Where centers are located in close proximity to one another or where client traffic has diminished significantly,” she stated, the cuts were made.

Haggerty also asserted that there has been a decrease in foot traffic as a result of the growing usage of mobile banking.

She said, “We are still confident in the combination of a strong retail presence and mobile capabilities that our clients have told us they prefer.”

Four of the twenty locations that are scheduled to go by the end of 2023—including one in San Francisco—will be gone.

Four more are scheduled to close in 2024—two of which are located in the city—and the dates for the other 16 closures are yet unknown.

The San Francisco Business Times states that Bank of America is the largest bank in the Bay Area.

However, the business has already shuttered 95 sites throughout the country this year, and 15 more are anticipated to close before the year is over.

Over the past ten years, the whole banking sector has been moving toward branch consolidation, and the pandemic has further sped up this tendency.

Rival bank Wells Fargo has closed more than 300 branches so far this year.

And according to the bank’s annual report, almost 1,000 Wells Fargo locations shuttered in 2022.

Chase has shut down 150 stores so far this year, and additional closures are planned for 2024.

In December, a total of fourteen branches will permanently close.

29 branches of another bank group are shutting down.

And find out which bank has closed its doors following a merger with another business.

A complete list of branches closing on December 2023

In order to reduce its footprint, Bank of America has stated that it will close a number of its locations nationwide before the year is up. In recent months, other major banking institutions, including JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo, have also shuttered a number of sites; additional closures are anticipated.

Due to the growing popularity of internet banking, major banks have closed their physical offices, which has reduced the number of choices available to their clients for in-person support. The emergence of online-only banks as rivals has resulted in a decrease in transactions at physical bank branches in recent years. It has become more challenging for traditional banks to maintain their physical branches as customers choose digital banking experiences more and more.

Furthermore, keeping physical branches incurs significant expenses and is no longer profitable for many banking organizations. Consequently, even when these losses are mitigated by revenues in other areas, many banks have chosen to eliminate unproductive branches.

Before shutting a branch, banks must provide the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) with at least ninety-five days’ notice. An advance notification of branch shutdown is used for this. Every week, the OCC releases a bulletin that lists all of the scheduled closures that have occurred since the bulletin’s publication. Consequently, the Bank of America branches that are scheduled to close in December are included in the September bulletin and comprise the following locations:

Christie Place, 100, Sarsdale, New York
STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT: 417 SHIPPANY Avenue
Lawrence Township, New Jersey 3140 Princeton Avenue
2012 E. Avenue of the Palms, Thousand Oaks, California
The OCC also announced the closing of its California branch, which was housed at San Francisco International Airport.

Additionally, it was noted in the bulletin dated September 30 that three branches were situated in:

Telephone Road, Houston, Texas, 6344
Spartanburg, South Carolina, 295 East Main Street
Concord, California, 43591 Mission Boulevard
As of right now, according to bulletins from October and November, Bank of America plans to eliminate 34 branches in 2019.

“We continue to invest in digital capabilities and modernize our financial centers as part of our high-tech and high-touch approach to reach more clients and meet their evolving needs,” said Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan. “We can serve clients more effectively and contribute to the growth and development of the local community by extending our capabilities in these markets.”

In addition to improving its retail banking presence in well-established locations, the company will begin multiyear retail banking growth throughout nine cities and four new states, namely Nebraska, Wisconsin, Alabama, and Louisiana, this year.

These marketplaces will offer solutions for small businesses in financing, investment, retirement, and banking. As a result of this expansion, the company will now manage banking centers in more than 200 cities across 39 states.