By Michelle Black, Business Correspondent
Published: April 06, 2025
In the first three months of 2025, US banks closed 272 locations, setting the stage for a potentially record-breaking year of branch closures. According to a recent Daily Mail report, this figure surpasses the pace of 2024, when 1,043 branches were shuttered nationwide. Major players like Chase, Bank of America, and TD Bank have filed notices with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to close locations between January 1 and March 29, hinting at a deepening trend.
The closures reflect a seismic shift toward online banking, a movement experts say is intensifying in 2025. "Retail bank closures in the US aren't slowing," said Darren Kingman of Root Digital, noting that reliance on physical branches hasn’t been this low since 1995. A Self Financial study projects a 4.1 percent rise in closures this year, potentially outstripping last year’s “bloodbath.” Meanwhile, research suggests the last US bank branch could vanish by 2041 if current trends persist.
Despite the digital surge, over half of Americans surveyed by GoBankingRates expressed concern about losing physical branches, highlighting a tension between convenience and tradition. As banks streamline operations, communities face dwindling local services, with the full impact of 2025’s closure wave yet to unfold.