Official data shows that US Bank filed to close ten branches in a single week, while Bank of America will shutter three.
The closures add to the hundreds of branches that have shut down this year amid concerns Americans are being left without access to basic financial services.
According to figures from the Office of Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), 14 bank branches were closed in the week ending April 7.
But in promising news, just as many new branches were opened thanks to concerted efforts by Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase.
The findings offer hope America’s so-called ‘bank branch bloodbath’ shows signs of stalling.
US Bank opted to close four banks in Ohio, while the three affected Bank of America branches are located in California. The openings were primarily in Texas, New York, and Illinois.
In 2023, more than 1,500 bank branches were shut for good, with California and the Midwest worst-hit.
Dozens of readers wrote to DailyMail.com to express concerns over the closures, as some now need to cross state lines to get to their closest bank.
One wrote, ‘PNC shut down our local branch, which was three miles away. Now, I must go to an adjoining city or across the river to Ohio to make deposits or for other banking needs.
‘It’s totally inconvenient, and as a senior citizen, the extra mileage wastes gas.’
Another reader in their 80s wrote: ‘This is all very distressing to both my husband and me. We’ve already had several bank closures 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 with no bank branches or within 10 miles of its center.
Just a handful of states – Arkansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wyoming – experienced a net gain of branches.
West Virginia was 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.
