US Major Banks Close 250 Branches in Bulk... Accelerating 'Digitalization of Finance'

Wells Fargo Bank, USA. [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-seop] It has been identified that major U.S. banks closed a large number of offline branches and reduced staff in the first half of this year.

According to major foreign media on the 15th, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and JP Morgan closed about 250 branches in the first half of this year. This accounts for 1 to 5% of each bank's total branches.

Wells Fargo closed 154 branches in the U.S. and reduced its workforce by 6%. Citigroup eliminated about 100 branches worldwide, including in the U.S., Mexico, and Asia. JP Morgan also saw about 40 branches disappear.

Industry experts analyzed this as a result of COVID-19 accelerating the 'digitalization of finance.' As financial transactions through applications (apps) became active, bank branches and staff became unnecessary.

In the case of Bank of America (BoA), 44% of account openings and new loans in the second quarter were conducted through digital channels. In 2019, this ratio was only 29%.

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