US banks closed 149 branches and opened 49 in March, resulting in a total of 78,588 active branches, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.
Net closings in the month were 100, down from the trailing-12-month average of 115 net closings.
Banks have been slowing branch reductions following record-breaking closings during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is part of an effort to strike a balance between digital adoption and maintaining physical footprints.
PNC leads net closers
PNC Financial Services Group Inc. topped the list of the most active net branch closers in March with 30 closed locations and only one opened. Six of the closed branches were located in Maryland, and another six were in Virginia. In the last 12 months, the company has shuttered 164 branches and opened 19.
Wells Fargo & Co. was the second-most active net closer in the month. It shut down 23 branches and did not open any. The company has closed 202 branches and opened 11 in the last 12 months.
On the consumer banking side, Wells Fargo continued to rationalize its branch footprint and branch setup and is seeing a decline in teller transactions, 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," President and CEO Charles Scharf added.
Fifth Third Bancorp recorded nine branch closings and one opening in March. In the first quarter, Fifth Third opened five branches in its Southeast market, with plans to add 30 branches by the end of 2023, CEO and President Timothy Spence said on the company's first-quarter earnings call.
"We continue to be surgical about pruning the branch network, which creates the capacity to invest in the Southeast," Spence said.
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Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. were also active net closers. BofA recorded 13 branch closings and zero openings in March, and JPMorgan logged 16 closings and eight openings.
Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc. was the most active net opener with two new branches and no closings.
West sees most closures
The West region logged the largest number of net branch closings in March with 29, followed by the Northeast region with 27. The South Central region was the only region with a net opening.
On a state-by-state basis, Virginia booked the most net closings with 15. Pennsylvania ranked second with 13 net closings, followed by California with 11.
Kansas and Texas were the states with the most net openings with two each.
