Branches used to be the key to banking. Bankers would brag, "If I open the door on 25 offices each morning and do nothing else, money is bound to flow in."
But with the advent of electronic and telephonic banking and especially the proliferation of the ATM, many observers felt that the day of the branch was over.
Were they wrong.
Banks are still building branches at a rapid pace, and many smaller banks have been acquired for their branch locations rather than for their asset and liability portfolios.
So how you pick branch locations is still important. In fact, it is an art. Branches do not thrive just because they are on the busiest corner in town.
One bank I knew used to buy properties for branches a few blocks from the center of town and then woo top tellers and customer service reps from the downtown banks. They figured that people would go out of their way for expert service where they can park.
But attractive parking can also be a disadvantage.
JPMorgan Chase maintains free all-day parking lots near some subway stops in New York City's outer boroughs. It's meant as parking for customers, but commuters can also park there - all day.
How to shoo them away is a problem. After all, Chase doesn't want to accidentally tag or tow the cars of customers who park a few hours for banking and other errands.
"Banks are our best customers," said a tow-truck operator I met at a McDonald's. (I was waiting for a friend, drinking coffee, and reading American Banker.) "People feel that if it is a bank, they can stay forever and no one will make a fuss.
"But banks are also our worst customers," he said. "They constantly switch from being tough to saying, 'Lay off our customers; we don't want to aggravate them and have them move their accounts.' "
"It is like fishing spots," the tow guy told me. "Sometimes they are good, and sometimes they are bad. When the word gets out that the bank isn't towing, more abusers come in and there is no room for regular customers - so in come our trucks again, by bank request."
The days when a branch in a shopping center would close at 3 p.m., just when the customers would start coming in to shop, are over. And some banks have gone further still to accommodate their customers.
Back when it was called Chemical Bank, JPMorgan Chase kept its branch at New York's Fulton Fish Market open from 2 a.m. to 10 a.m. There was no reason to stay open later; by 10 a.m. the fish and the fish sellers were all gone.
