Forbes, April 23, 2021, 3 Major Banks Plan More Branch Closings As Thousands Shutter—In U.S. And U.K.—Amid Covid, Digital Growth
The rise of digital banking services and fears among employees and customers of contracting Covid has also shut down many bank branches in the U.S.
According to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a grassroots organization advocating for the underbanked, the number of U.S. bank branches dropped from 85,993 to 81,586, a 5.1% decline, between 2017 and 2020. About one-fourth of those closures occurred in low-to-moderate-income (LMI) neighborhoods. Chicago, which witnessed an overall branch closure rate of 8.5% over that period, saw one-third of branches in its LMI areas disappear.
