- Key insight: Over the past two decades, banks had been closing more branches than they were opening. Now, for the first time since 2009, that trend appears to be turning around.
- Supporting data: In the past three quarters, U.S. banks have reported a net gain of 120 branches.
- Expert quote: "The conventional wisdom for many years has been that branches were outdated, and that they were going away. … Instead, what we've seen now is growth over the last three quarters." —Jason Richardson, senior director of research at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition
For the first time since the Great Recession, the number of brick-and-mortar bank branches in America is steadily growing.
In the second quarter of 2026, more U.S. bank branches opened than closed, according to an analysis of Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data by the nonprofit National Community Reinvestment Coalition. This growth, in itself, was not unprecedented. But it marked three consecutive quarters of net gains — the first time that's happened since 2009.
"At this point I'm comfortable calling this a trend," Jason Richardson, the NCRC's senior director of research, told American Banker. "We're three quarters into this analysis, and it's continuing."
Richardson emphasized that the growth was not enormous. The second quarter of 2026 saw 261 openings and 248 closings, resulting in a gain of 13 branches. Over the past three quarters combined, the U.S. has seen a net increase of 120 branches.
But the fact that the past nine months have seen gains at all is a reversal of an almost two-decade trend.
In the wake of the global financial crisis, which pummeled banks' profits, and later the Covid-19 pandemic, which drove customers toward online banking, bank branches had been rapidly dwindling. In 2009, according to
"The conventional wisdom for many years has been that branches were outdated, and that they were going away," Richardson said. "I figured that there was going to be a point at which we saw kind of a leveling, at least. But instead, what we've seen now is growth over the last three quarters."
This growth has not been evenly distributed. The biggest gains have been in the South, while the biggest losses have been in the Northeast and West.
The Southeast, for example, saw a net gain of 203 branches over the past year, while the region comprising New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Washington, D.C., saw a net loss of 167.
In terms of metro areas, the biggest winner was Dallas-Fort Worth, which gained 32 branches over the past four quarters, while the biggest loser was New York, which lost 65.
This pattern reflects U.S. population trends. In recent years, the population has been growing much faster in the South than in other regions. Since 2020, the Dallas metro area's population has increased by 11%, according to the
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"My opinion is it's got to do with internal migration within the U.S., post-pandemic," Richardson said. "Not surprisingly, where those people are leaving, branches are still being closed in great numbers. But where they're going, they're being opened."
There was also another divide: While plenty of stand-alone, full-service branches opened, the number of in-store locations — small branches located inside supermarkets and big-box stores — declined.
Over the past year, these in-store branches saw a net loss of 77 locations across the U.S. Just last month, Citizens Financial Group said it would
And this trend held true in all regions, including high-growth areas — the Southeast and Southwest, collectively, lost a total of 14 in-store branches over the past four quarters.
"Those are being closed at a dramatic rate," Richardson said. "Clearly there's a movement within banking, understanding that branches have value, but it's a specific type of branch."
In Richardson's view, mobile and online banking took over the kinds of routine banking tasks that in-store locations were meant to handle. Full-service branches, however, still have many roles to play.
"Think about it," Richardson said. "Would you go into the store location to ask about a mortgage or a car loan? Probably not."
As populations continue to shift, Richardson makes no predictions as to whether the current trends for bank branches will continue. But three quarters in a row is enough to establish a pattern.
"What remains to be seen is how this progresses," Richardson said. "But for the first time in 20 years, we've got more branches opening than closing."
