US banks closed 273 branches and opened 46 in May, with U.S. Bancorp as the largest contributor of shuttered branches.
There were 227 net closings in the month, up from 79 in April and the trailing-12-month average of 132, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. Banks had a total of 78,121 active branches as of the end of May.
U.S. Bancorp leads net closers
U.S. Bancorp, the parent company of U.S. Bank NA, topped the list of most active branch net closers in May with 133 closings, all in California, and no openings.
The Minneapolis-based company's pace of branch closings again sped up after slowing in the months before the completion of its acquisition of San Francisco-based MUFG Union Bank NA in December 2022. In the last 12 months, the company closed 194 branches and opened only seven, Market Intelligence data showed.
U.S. Bancorp consolidated branches during the month when it converted Union Bank customers to U.S. Bank systems, Jeff Shelman, senior vice president and head of enterprise external communications for U.S. Bank, told Market Intelligence.
"Both Union Bank customers and U.S. Bank customers have gained access to branch and fee-free ATM locations through the consolidation," he said in an emailed statement. "Of the branches that were consolidated, more than [50%] were located within a half mile of another branch and [80%] were within a mile of another branch."
– Download an Excel template with data featured in this story.
– Set email alerts for future Data Dispatch articles.
Wells Fargo & Co. ranked as the second-most-active net closer, shuttering 38 branches and opening only one. On the consumer banking side, the company continued to rationalize its branch footprint and setup, CFO Michael Santomassimo said on the company's first-quarter earnings call.
"Our branch network will continue to be the key to the business. But our customers expect us to provide them with increasingly digitized and seamless banking experiences across all channels," Wells Fargo President and CEO Charles Scharf said.
PNC Financial Services Group Inc., the top net closer in March and April, landed the third spot on the most active net closers list in May with 30 closings and two openings.
The most active branch net openers in the month were Big Poppy Holdings Inc. and Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc., each opening two branches.
Closings in the West
The West region recorded the largest number of net branch closings in May at 158. The Northeast region was second with 32 net closings, followed by the Southeast region with 20.
California logs most net closings
On a state level, California booked the most net closings at 138. New Jersey logged 17 net closings, ranking second.
Nine states — Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland and Nebraska — were tied with the most net openings at one each.
