Banks this year closed branches in California and the Midwest faster than elsewhere, as an ongoing elimination of costly brick and mortar locations leaves an increasing number of Americans without access to basic financial services.
Dozens of banks filed notices to close a total of 1,566 branches between January 1 and December 22, according to data from their regulator, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). In contrast they only notified the regulator of plans to open 472.
And the closures are being felt. DailyMail.com has received emails from concerned readers that they now need to travel further to access a bank.
Californiasaw by far the greatest net closures, losing an average of 300 branches. The area around Seattle also lost more than a dozen branches while only gaining two.
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Dozens of banks filed notices to close a total of 1,566 branches between January 1 and December 22, according to data from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
But the rapid retreat of banks from some regions was perhaps the most pronounced in the Midwest. Michigan lost 36 branches over the year but did not gain one. Illinoislost 60 branches and gained 18.
One reader said they now needed to cross state lines to get to a bank.
'PNC shut down our local branch which was three miles away, now I have to go to an adjoining city or across the river to Ohio to make deposits or for other banking needs,' they wrote.'It's totally inconvenient and as a senior citizen the extra mileage is wasting gas.'
Another elderly reader in their early 80s pointed out that driving long distances may not always be viable.
'This is all very distressing to both my husband and me,' they said. 'We've already had several closures of our banks and have to drive further and further to find our banks. What happens when we can no longer drive?'
A banking desert is a neighborhood which has no bank branches in it or within 10 miles of its center.
Just handful of states - Arkansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wyoming- experienced a net gain of branches.
West Virginiawas the only state that did not lose a single bank branch throughout the entire year.
The majority of Americans are concerned about widespread bank branch closures - which are hitting lower-income households the hardest.
Wells Fargo led the charge, filing to close 312 branches in the year.
It was followed by PNC and US Bank which notified of 196 and 178 closures respectively. Bank of America and Chase both filed to close exactly 157 branches.
Citibank was a notable outlier among the big national banks, filing to close only eight banks throughout the year. Meanwhile, certain smaller banks also closed a significant number of branches.
Santander, which is headquartered in Boston, said it would close 61 of its 500 or so branches. Some 38 of those closures were scheduled in Massachusetts.
Wells Fargo led the charge, filing to close 312 branches. JPMorgan Chase opened more than 40 percentof the total 472 reported by all banks across the year
Citizens bank said it would close 85 branches - nearly 10 percent of its approximately 1,000 across the country.
JPMorgan Chase stood out because it was one of the only banks that filed to open more banks than it said it would close. It notified the OCC of 195 openings - that is more than 40 percent of the total 472 reported by all banks across the year.
Similarly, TD Bank said it would close just one branch in Maine but would open 24.
A spokesperson for Bank of America told DailyMail.com that it was closing branches in response to diminishing customer traffic.
'What we're seeing across the industry is that our clients are using digital banking for more of their everyday needs. 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,' they said.
As the habits of consumers are changing, so too are the way banks are set out, said the spokesperson.
In the past Bank of America branches were arranged in such a way that the teller line was at the front. That line is now often at the back of the branch to make space for customers to meet with bank employees privately nearer to the entrance.
Although the majority of consumer banks have been closing branches in recent years, the extent of the downscaling could begin to level off, the spokesperson suggested.
Another spokesperson for Wells Fargo, Amy Amirault, also told DailyMail.com that the bank is evolving with its customers.
'As customer preferences and transaction patterns change, so will our branches,' she wrote in a statement. 'For example, we may open new branches where we combine two older existing branches into one better situated location.'
Despite closing more than 300 branches across the US, Wells Fargo only notified the regulator of 22 openings in 2023. Pictured is aWells Fargo Bank in Aspen, Colorado
But an exclusive poll by DailyMail.com earlier this year revealed51 percent of consumers said they were very or somewhat concerned about the declining number of bank branches.
It also found that brick and mortar services were less accessible to black Americans.While 14 percent of black Americans said they did not have a local branch, that was only the case for 8 percent of white Americans.
When a bank closes a branch it must file its regulator.
In a statement to DailyMail.com, a spokesperson for the OCC said: 'The OCC understands the importance of bank branches and is committed to supporting access to banking services in all communities.'
Bu the watchdog also said that although banks and credit unions need to notify the 'primary regulator of closures', the statute that requires them to do so does not enable them to object.
The majority of Americans are concerned about widespread bank branch closures - which are hitting lower-income households the hardest.
