Banks Are Closing Their Doors Faster Than Ever - Are Your Deposists At Risk?

THOUSANDS of banks have shut down in the US last year, but one has stood apart from the pack with the most closures.

Chase Bank shut down the most banks in the US in 2022 and is scheduled to close even more next month.

JPMorgan Chase shut down 144 branches last year, according to Kiplinger.

The bank also opened 133 branches.

Chase Bank's footprint strategy doesn't indicate a state of flux - the bank is adjusting its strategy for the future.

A spokesperson for the company told The U.S. Sun that the bank has made "significant investments in new branches, adding more than 650 over the last five years, including delivering on our commitment to build 400 branches in 25 new states."

Chase has developed more digital financial services as it has tried to persuade younger, more online customers.

Areas with duplicate locations have shuttered dozens of banks in the past year as the company intends to expand its visible footprint into new regions.

"We’re targeting covering 70 percent of the U.S. population within a 10-minute drive of our branches, up from 60 percent today, which means you will see us build more branches than we close, resulting in a modestly larger branch network over time," a JPMorgan Chase representative told The U.S. Sun.

"Our goal is not to have the most branches – but to have the right branches, in more communities, serving the financial needs of our customers."

The branch closure trend is expected to continue throughout the year.

OCTOBER CLOSURES COMING

JPMorgan Chase announced plans to close three more branches next month.

The bank will shut two locations in California and one in Indiana.

Another Chase Bank in Indianapolis is set to close on December 1.

JPMorgan, the financial services arm of the bank, is set to close two more locations in Texas this year.

The company filed paperwork to close banks after 90 days on September 19 - the bank did not disclose the last day of operation.

BANK CLOSURE IMPACTS

More than 3,000 banks closed in 2022, the Kiplinger report found.

The number of banks closing has accelerated over the past decade.

Kiplinger reported that 7,000 bank branches closed between 2017 and 2021, representing nine percent of all US bank branch locations.

Of the 7,000 closures, a third of the branches were in minority-majority communities.

The closures also contribute to increased bifurcation of bank power, a study from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition found.

"The Great Consolidation resulted in a few large megabanks dominating the market while small community banks disappeared," the study concluded.

The U.S. Sun reports on other bank closures - here is a full list of banks that will close in the fall.

Also, here is another large bank that shut down dozens of branches this year.

Originally published by Ben Shimkus at The Sun