Major US banks close 36 locations in just three weeks

Major banks have closed 36 locations across America in just three weeks, as experts warn communities are being stripped of vital local services. Between April 26 and May 15, major lenders including Santander, US Bank and Wells Fargo were among the eight banks to notify the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) of planned closures.

Banks are required to alert the OCC before shutting down a branch and the agency then publishes the filings in a weekly report. While the listings indicate intent to close, they are not final confirmations.

In the three week period, Santander said it would 28 locations — far more than any other institution. Community Bank was next at five local branches, US Bank four, and Wells Fargo three.

The remainder was made up by Bank of America, Capital One, Flagstar and Key Bank. New York was the worst hit state, losing ten local bank locations. Massachusetts was also hit with six closures and Pennsylvania, five.

In 2024, banks closed a total of 1,043 branches nationwide and the trend has only accelerated in 2025 with 272 closures already logged in the first quarter alone. New research also recently revealed that the last physical branch could close in 2041.

Experts from Self Financial reached the number by studying the rate of net closures across the country, which has averaged 1,646 each year since 2018. 'Retail bank closures in the US aren't slowing,' Darren Kingman (pictured) from Root Digital told DailyMail.com.

'The last time this many people shared a local branch was in 1995' he explained. Kingman warned that while the US edges toward a cashless future, over 200 million Americans still deposit cash — meaning longer lines and worse service as access shrinks.

Despite the digital shift, a new GoBankingRates survey also found 45 percent of Americans still prefer in-person banking. 'The shift towards online banking is growing more intense in 2025,' GoBankingRates lead data content researcher Andrew Murray told DailyMail.com.

'Despite the trend towards online banking, our survey data shows more than half of Americans are concerned about the rising number of physical branches that have shut down in the past few years,' Murray explained.

'Meanwhile, a whopping 76 percent says that the current banking system needs small or major changes.' Further to this more than half of respondents said they were concerned about the rising number of physical bank branch closures over the last few years.