- Key insight: Major banks are still investing in their branch footprints, even though net branch count is still on the decline for most institutions.
- Supporting data: The industry saw a net decline of about 400 branches last year, according to a branch banking firm's annual report.
- What's at stake: Deposit competition has cooled some since 2023, but banks are still fighting for customers' wallets.
The largest banks in the country are still investing in branch locations, even as artificial intelligence rapidly advances and financial technology firms wade deeper into the banking system.
Several major banks said this week they're focused on optimizing their physical footprints to capture consumer and wealth management business across the country. While overall net branch count is decreasing among the largest financial institutions, banks are focusing on making the branches they operate as convenient as possible for customers.
PNC Financial Services Group has been aiming to lure more retail clients, which CEO Bill Demchak said Wednesday is "the key to growing deposits long term." He added that banks are fighting for clients and deposits.
The banking industry saw a net decline of about 400 branches last year, according to Bancography's 2026 report, marking a slowdown in closures following a massive spike in 2021 and 2022, when more than 5,000 branches shuttered. The 10 largest banks' branch networks account for one-third of all U.S. bank branches, per the report.
Bancography, a branch banking consulting firm, estimates that it costs about $3.5 million to add a new freestanding branch, with a four-year break-even time frame.
At the top-four banks, a net total of 15 branches closed in 2025, according to an American Banker analysis of data from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
Major banks that have reported earnings this week, such as PNC, JPMorganChase, Citi, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, each highlighted their efforts to grow deposits.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said Tuesday that the bank could look at spending some of its estimated $40 billion of excess capital on expanding its branch network. The company, which has more than 5,000 U.S. branches, has been executing on plans it announced in 2024 to build more than 500 new branches by 2027. Last year, the company saw a net increase of 116 branches — the highest of any of the top-four banks.
"When we grow a branch, it's an expense, but it's an ultimate use of capital," Dimon said on a Tuesday call with reporters to discuss earnings. "Years from now, when the branch has deposits — $100 million or $150 million — that effectively uses $10 million of capital."
Bank of America, which said in 2024 that it planned to open 165 locations by the end of this year, isn't chasing deposits, but it is aiming to "maximize the core operating client account activity," Chief Financial Officer Alastair Borthwick said Wednesday. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank has targeted new markets such as Louisville, Kentucky, and Boise, Idaho.
BofA CEO Brian Moynihan said during the company's first-quarter earnings call that the bank invests in revenue-producing capabilities, such as new branches, to support "client activity, market share gains and long-term earnings power of this company."
The $603 billion-asset PNC has leveraged acquisitions to grow its branch footprint. In January, PNC closed on its purchase of FirstBank Holding Company, which tripled its footprint in Colorado and Arizona. In 2021, the bank catapulted its footprint in Texas and other parts of the Sun Belt by buying BBVA USA.
On top of the acquisitions, PNC is investing $2 billion to add 300 new branches by 2030 in new markets such as Chicago, Florida and North Carolina.
Demchak said Wednesday that PNC now has "created a production factory" to add 60 to 100 branches per year, which requires site location and teams in each market.
Citi and Wells, both of which
In December, Citi announced it would integrate its retail bank into its wealth business. CEO Jane Fraser said Tuesday that the bank's branch footprint — which is composed of 650 branches across six urban markets — is targeted, and "highly aligned" with its wealth business.
Wells Fargo Chief Financial Officer Michael Santomassimo said Tuesday that Wells has been increasing activity in its branches to drive "stronger, low-cost checking account growth." But, he said, balances in those accounts are smaller than commercial balances, and can take longer to grow.
