Branch network

The Richmond, Virginia-based bank expects to build 10 branches in Raleigh and Wilmington, North Carolina, over the next three years. M&A is on the back burner as the company also works to capitalize on its recent acquisition of Sandy Spring Bank in Maryland, CEO John Asbury said.

The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank, which is focusing its growth push in the Southeast, is also planning to renovate 300 existing offices as part of an effort to attract more mass-affluent customers.

Washington Trust Bank is executing a slow-but-steady de novo expansion inside the I-5 corridor on the western side of its home state. Its newest branch is slated to open this fall in Tacoma.

The Ohio-based bank opened its first branch in Alabama, with plans to open 14 more over the next three years.

The San Antonio-based company plans to remain in state borders, but sees opportunity for growth in major markets.

The pending sale of the branches in eastern Pennsylvania to a central New York-based bank comes amid Santander's planned closure of 18 branches this summer and its continued focus on building out a national digital bank.

The banking arm of Spanish giant Banco Santander plans to close about 4.5% of its branch network in the United States, according to regulatory filings.

Orange Bank and Trust in Middletown says it will operate as a boutique commercial bank, focusing on small business, nonprofits and the borough's sizzling housing construction market.

Susser Bank has proved successful attracting business from small and midsize companies the past two years. It's hoping a successful capital raise and continued branch expansion can extend the trend.

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.

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.

The North Carolina-based company said it expects to close about 4% of its branch network, or roughly 80 offices, by the end of the first quarter. The closures come amid Truist's $750 million cost-cutting initiative.

Despite growing up as digital natives, this age group now has more complex financial needs than they can typically handle online.

The 10th largest credit union in the U.S. is expanding its Florida footprint to Orlando.

The $683 million-asset credit union opened a loan production office in Enfield dedicated exclusively to mortgage and business lending.

Truliant Federal Credit Union plans to build three more locations in the northwest corner of South Carolina by the end of next year. The $4 billion-asset credit union also recently opened a regional office in Greenville, South Carolina.

The report, which examined trends between 2010 and 2021, found that the country's biggest banks only opened 638 branches in low-to-moderate-income communities made up primarily of people of color. That accounts for just 15% of their total branch openings.

Bank of Montreal plans to raise its minimum wage for U.S. branch and contact-center employees to $18 an hour as companies face heightened competition for workers in a tight labor market.

The retail consolidation in Midwestern markets will also support the bank’s branch expansion in Atlanta, Charlotte and other fast-growing cities across the Southeast.

The company has long focused on customers with ties to the two states. But as it emerges from the pandemic seeking new lending opportunities, CEO Rajinder Singh says, “We are looking at markets from Boston all the way down to Atlanta.”