Branch banking

As high interest rates continue weighing on banks' balance sheets, some are selling branches to real estate firms and leasing them back. The strategy is helping lenders that want to restructure their underwater bond portfolios.

The bank said it would reduce its physical footprint by nearly 15% as part of an effort to reduce overlapping operations, drive cost savings and meet profitability targets tied to its May acquisition of Lakeland Bancorp.

Dickinson Financial in Missouri has no intention of departing from its expansionary mindset as it lays plans for de novo branches and scouts new acquisition opportunities.

Branch office deposit data is among the most confidential information at a bank, especially those with many branches. Why have regulators made this sensitive competitive data public for banks and thrifts annually for over 50 years but not for credit unions?

The Charleston-based company agreed to pay $267 million to acquire Piedmont Bank in Peachtree Corners, Georgia. It's United's 34th deal, but the first since 2021.

Branches won't succeed without significant investment in mobile and in-branch technology; but failing to invest in bankers themselves is just as big a problem.

Instead of painting unionization as a barrier to business success, we should consider it an opportunity to rebuild trust, integrity and responsibility within the banking sector.

Based on the pace of deals through late March, the banking industry is on track for the most branch sales since 2021. Buyer interest has mounted alongside the need to acquire deposits, following hits to funding bases last year.

In the wake of multiple successes in 2023, the labor movement in the U.S. is continuing its efforts to expand. Recent successful union elections at Wells Fargo branches should be a wake-up call to the industry.

Berkshire Hills Bancorp declined to detail the savings it expects from the downsizing, though one analyst estimated it could shave $3 million from the company's annual noninterest expenses.