Branch network

The Palmetto State joins Alabama, Florida, Texas and other states to provide greater interstate branching access to members.

The role of branches in consumers' lives may be changing in the digital age, but brick-and-mortar locations are here to stay. To adapt, Citizens Bank has begun a "10-year process" of retrofitting its branch network.

The acquirer of the failed Guaranty Bank took a pass on the latter’s 107 in-store branches, leading to their shutdown and a disruption in service for many low-income customers.

Even as units of a larger holding company, local banks fight the perception that they can’t provide sophisticated services like corporate or private banking. Executives say that unifying the brand will help Synovus better compete against larger players.

A freewheeling discussion (over beers) about the future of branches with Tom Brown of Second Curve Capital and Dave Martin of BankMechanics at the Trump National Doral hotel in Miami during American Banker’s Retail Banking 2017 conference.

In the near future, branch authentication will likely rely more on things like iris scans and palm readers than physical ID cards.

These execs say they are finding ways to reduce fixed costs in areas such as branching and personnel, offer appealing tech, yet provide in-person services when customers have concerns.

The deal includes $52.6 million in deposits and $13.2 million in loans, and the bank has indicated it plans to close two more locations in Wisconsin in June.

The company will sell five branches in Wisconsin to an unnamed buyer. It also plans to close two locations.

The executive tasked with rebuilding trust in the retail bank discusses how employees reacted to its new incentive pay plan, why Wells stopped calling its branches "stores," how it now prevents salespeople from impersonating customers, and more.

A faster network is letting the regional bank bring new technology into its branches and share data with fintech partners via APIs.

At a time when customers are rapidly switching to digital banking, scores of branches are closing. But many institutions — mindful that brick-and-mortar locations remain a critical sales channel — are also experimenting with physical layouts that are focused on technology and generally smaller than traditional branches. In some cases, they have even done away with employees. Here is a look at some of the designs that banks have built as they seek to fuse the physical with the digital.

Instead of waiting to be disrupted by fintech startups, a pair of credit unions are rethinking what they are, who they serve and how they do it — and it's paying off by bringing younger members into the fold.

Bank of America is revamping its retail network and upgrading its ATMs as it rolls out a new type of branch that bridges the physical and digital worlds.

A joint venture the California company operates in China opened its first branch in Shanghai in 2012.

More and more banks are using advanced geographic information systems to help make decisions around branch consolidation, lending in low-income communities, monitoring fraud and even deploying talent.

Community banks should jump at the chance to show consumers and policymakers how different they are from big banks.

First Busey plans to close the $236 million cash-and-stock acquisition by the middle of this year.

Traditional banks may need to think twice about putting off higher rates on CDs and other deposit products. That’s because freer-spending online banks are adding deposits faster than they are, and more Fed rate hikes are expected to fuel that trend.

Over the last five years, the credit union also saw a 66% rise in membership, 204% increase in auto loans and a 26% uptick in real estate loans.