Branch network

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.”

The Tennessee company said merger costs tied to its Iberiabank acquisition are up $40 million from previous estimates. However, savings from additional branch closings and unexpected revenue gains should soften the blow.

For years, women have gotten a foot in the door to the finance industry by becoming bank tellers. Now that path is disappearing.

The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank is adding three branches in Lexington, with plans for a fourth next year.

The London-based banking giant announced a plan this week to exit the mass-market U.S. retail business and focus on managing the wealth of affluent globe-trotters. But other international banks will provide stiff competition.

Christine Channels will oversee a group of branches focused on low- and moderate-income areas, according to a memo from executives who run the division.

Citigroup Chief Executive Jane Fraser said she’s “very bullish” on the immediate outlook for the U.S. economy, and the banking giant is still planning to add more branches around the country.

The Texas company kept allowances steady, citing lingering concerns over the pandemic and commercial real estate. Yet it plans to open 25 offices in Dallas after a similar expansion in Houston drove asset and customer growth.

The community banks join a growing list of banking companies closing locations as customer preferences shift to digital channels.

Citigroup could fetch as much as $6 billion from the sale of retail banking assets in 13 markets across the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and the Middle East as the lender forges ahead with plans to fine-tune its global branch network, people familiar with the plan said.

The Ohio company has opened just 32 of 120 new branches it plans in the region by 2022, but those offices are making a sizable contribution to growth.