Posted on 10/16/2023 6:00:03 PM PDT by Libloather
Major US banks are continuing to close branches across the US, leaving an increasing number of Americans without access to basic financial services.
Bank of America axed 21 branches in the first week of October, according to a bulletin published by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on Friday.
Wells Fargo shuttered 15, while US Bank and Chase reported closing nine and three respectively.
In total, some 54 locations had either closed or were scheduled to close between October 1 and October 7. Of the overall closures, three were in Louisville in Kentucky. Eight of the 21 Bank of America closures were in California.
On Friday, major US banks including Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase reported their third quarter earnings. Increased revenue thanks to higher interest rates saw both banks' revenues increase.
This months' closures come after an exclusive poll by DailyMail.com revealed that 51 percent of consumers said they were very or somewhat concerned about the declining number of bank branches. Only 18 percent said they were not at all concerned.
The survey also found that brick-and-mortar services are 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.
In March Senator Sherrod Brown sent a letter to the OCC wanting to launch an inquiry into the impact of such closures on lower income communities.
When banks close a branch, they must notify the OCC. In a statement to DailyMail.com in August, a spokesperson said: 'The OCC understands the importance of bank branches and is committed to supporting access to banking services in all communities.'
They also noted that although banks and credit unions need to notify their 'primary regulator of closures', the statute that requires...
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I have a LLC account for an organization I volunteer with. We had to fly to South Carolina to set up the accounts.
Last year I needed to change my treasurer. They needed us to physically meet at the bank. One treasurer is five hours from me. The other lives on the other side of the country.
In a few weeks we’ll no longer be Wells Fargo customers. They refuse to work with us.
When you live in hurricane areas you need cash for evacuations - often power's down for days and cash is king. Our grocery stores restrict cash back to $50. Other than that, I agree with you on banks... I might go inside one once a year.
These banks are getted pressed by on-line banks such as American Express. Amex has 1% interest on checking balances (better than most), 4.3% in their high-yield savings account, no monthly fee charges, great customer support, etc. It makes for a tougher environment to compete.
Bank of America has been putting full page ads on page 3 of our local newspaper for several weeks, at least. Each day is a different ad. It must be costing them a fortune. I don’t think people here are impressed with this type of expenditure; we tend to be concerned with overhead costs and big spending where we do business. JMHO
WELLS FARGO (15)
Phoenix, Arizona - 2745 West Carefree Highway
Douglasville, Georgia - 3298 Highway 5
Des Moines, Iowa - 4505 Douglas Avenue
Bosque Farms, New Mexico - 970 Bosque Farm Boulevard
Flourtown, Pennsylvania - 1886 Bethlehem Pike
Greshem, Oregon - 110 N.E. Roberts Avenue
Issaquah, Washington - 1527 Highlands Dr.
Dallas, Texas - 1420 West Mockingbird Lane
Reno, Nevada - 4045 South Virginia Street
Lincoln, Nevada - 2301 North 48th Street
Pinson, Alabama - 4394 Main Street
Santa Teresa, New Mexico - 1275 Country Club Road
Redwood City, California - 1071 El Camino Real
Miami Beach, Florida - 555 Washington Avenue
Bermuda Dunes, California - 42420 Washington Avenue
US BANK (9)
Eagan, Minnesota - 610 Opperman Drive
Louisville, Kentucky - 520 North 35th Street
Louisville, Kentucky - 4915 Dixie Highway
Ogden, Utah - 1485 Harrison Road
Clayton, Missouri - 10 N. Hanley
Yakima, Washington - 801 N 39th Ave
Chicago, Illinois - 310 North Pulaski Road
Bowling Green, Kentucky - 899 Laurel Avenue
Edwards, Colorado - 34353 Highway 6
JP MORGAN CHASE (3)
Butler, Wisconsin - 12701 West Hampton Avenue
Louisville, Kentucky - 3820 Brownsboro Road
Salt Lake City, Utah - 3430 South Redwood Road
My girlfriend has been working at one of these banks for 25 years now, and has risen through the ranks from a lowly teller to bringing home six figures a year. She has about ten years to retirement and hopes the house of cards doesn’t collapse too soon.
The only people who actually go to banks these days, meaning actually go inside the building to do banking, are older people who just don’t do online or internet at all.
Myself, I haven’t been inside a bank in over ten years. There’s just no reason for it anymore, unless you’re talking very large sums of money in loans or investments.
Old people.
I go to my credit union weekly as I have done for 25+ years. I have two businesses that need cash for change, etc. I’m not a customer, I’m a member. They also have financed my vehicles, my home renovation, and other things. The do everything a bank can, but I’m treated like king.
My WF branch closed in August.
The BofA branch in Spotswood, NJ is 2 miles from another branch in Tanner’s Corner.
Everything is numbers on a computer screen, but I still walk out of stores with physical objects. Shouldn’t a rational person consider this a bit weird?
I can say for an absolute fact that there are absolutely no Bank of America, branches, or tellers in north eastern Wyoming and north western South Dakota.
I’m a Bank of America customer and Bank of America sucks, don’t use them.
PNC is converting many branches to financial centers without teller services. Cash is expensive to handle and process, as well as being a safety issue. Many are also getting out of safety deposit box services.
I’ve had a credit card with WF since 1989, but that’s it. My banking has always been with credit unions.
They’re building banks as fast as they can where I live. There’s even one section of street where there are literally 4 banks in a row...
You forgot the tens of thousands of illegals that go inside to conduct their cash business.
Bank Deserts are “the man” keepin’ me down! I feel a strong need to burn down a strip mall to protest the loss of my B of A.
I personally don’t feel comfortable banking on line or by phone. Too easy to get hacked I should think.
Don’t know what the situation is now, but at one point BofA had one ATM and no branches in the state of Utah.
I’m sure Neil Bush is on the case. *SMIRK*
Join your local Credit Union. Banks are for suckers.
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