Bank Branch Closures Tick Up as Lenders Merge

Bank mergers are on the rise, which could also mean an uptick in bank branch closures.

That’s according to a report Saturday (April 4) from The Street, which cites S&P Global data showing that bank merger and acquisition deals picked up last year and are on pace to continue into this year.

The report noted that when banks are bought or sold, closures tend to happen in rural areas. This is because these lenders might often service the same community, David Danielson, managing director at accounting and advisory firm Wolf & Company, told TheStreet.

“When overlapping branches close to reduce costs, customers who rely on in‑person banking feel that change immediately,” he said.

According to the report, data from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency shows that there were 41 bank closure announcements during the first quarter of the year, compared to 39 in the same three-month period in 2025.

Ohio saw the most closures at six, followed by Texas with four, South Dakota, Delaware, Illinois, and Florida each with three branch closures planned, and two closures each in Louisiana, Utah, Wisconsin and New York.

The report adds that the numbers echo an ongoing trend, as banks have been slashing costs as they deal with competition from non-banks and digital-only financial institutions. That’s led to 15% of all U.S. branch locations closing between 2015 and 2024, the report said, citing data from Statista.

As covered here last month, demand for digital banking is being shaped by younger users. Research from PYMNTS Intelligence has found that 13.8% of consumers now use a digital bank as their primary financial institution. Gen Z, meanwhile, tends to gravitate towards apps that allow them to combine financial tasks with shopping, communication and entertainment.

“That pattern does not reflect a preference for banks in the traditional sense,” PYMNTS wrote recently. “It reflects a preference for integrated digital environments where payments, savings and spending sit within the same interface.”

Meanwhile, not every bank is cutting back on its brick-and-mortar presence. For example, J.P. Morgan Chase announced a 160-location wave of branch openings earlier this year, part of  a 2024 pledge by the country’s largest bank to open more than 500 branches in three years.

And Truist announced last summer that it would open 100 new branches and renovate 300 more in cities around the U.S. as it looked to court wealthier clients.