U.S. banks shuttered 159 branches and opened 83 in December 2022, bringing the total number of active branches to 79,027, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.
Net closures in the month were 76, notably down from the trailing-12-month average of 172 net closures. U.S. banks opened 1,004 branches and closed 3,065 branches in full year 2022.
Many banks have reduced their branch footprints since 2020, but recently, banks have been balancing branch reductions and increased digital adoptions for several reasons, including maintaining a physical presence to compete.
JPMorgan tops the list
JPMorgan Chase & Co. was the most active net closer in December 2022, shuttering 35 branches and opening 16. Over the last 12 months, the company has closed 144 branches and opened 133.
"[E]very branch we open, for every bank that we hire, for every tech thing we do, we're pretty comfortable," JPMorgan Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon said on the company's fourth-quarter 2022 earnings call.
The second-most active branch net closer was Tupelo, Miss.-based Cadence Bank with 16 closings and no openings. KeyCorp claimed the third spot as it shuttered seven branches without any openings.
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Bank of America Corp. was also one of the most active net closers with 10 branches closed and five opened.
"These branches we're opening are extremely successful when you look at the size of them relative to anybody else's opening practice. ... And yet the total number of branches comes down because we're managing the expense side," Chairman and CEO Brian Moynihan said on the company's fourth-quarter 2022 earnings call.
The most active net opener was Fifth Third Bancorp with eight openings, all in the Southeast region, and three closings. The company plans to close 25 branches in the first half of 2023 and add 30 to 35 new branches in its high-growth markets, CFO James Leonard said on the company's fourth-quarter 2022 earnings call.
Fifth Third also plans to make progress on its technology modernization journey. "[We'll] begin to realize savings and improve the client experience by leveraging these investments to drive automation into our most labor-intensive processes," CEO and President Timothy Spence said.
Closures by geography
In December 2022, the West region had the most branch net closures at 24. The Northeast region came in second with 18 net closures, and the South Central region ranked third with 13.
On a state-by-state basis, California recorded the most net closures with 15, followed by Texas with 11. Pennsylvania was third with eight net closures.
Iowa and Tennessee had the most net openings at four each.
