An alarming trend has recently come to light that has many conservatives nationwide worried: more and more physical bank branches are closing their doors for good. These mass closures are leaving the American public with less financial accessibility.
According to a bulletin published by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) on Friday, October 13, Bank of America led the way by closing 21 branches in just the first week of October. Wells Fargo came in at second place with 15 closures while US Bank and Chase reported nine and three branch closures respectively.
In total, 54 locations had either closed or were scheduled to close during that time period. It comes as no surprise that most of these closures were located in areas with large minority populations.
Major US banks are continuing to close branches across the US, leaving an increasing number of Americans w/out access to basic financial services
54 locations in the last week ????
The Cyber & Certificate Authority madness hasn't even started yet!
Financial Storm = en route ⛈️ https://t.co/XpXo4vGY3a pic.twitter.com/iwisXgHZLG
— Michael Rae Khoury (@Vltra_MK) October 13, 2023
Major U.S banks including Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase reported their third quarter earnings which showed increased revenue thanks to higher interest rates – despite branch closures across all four banks.
During this time, an exclusive poll by Daily Mail also revealed that 51 percent of customers expressed some level of concern over declining number of bank branches whereas only 18 percent said they weren’t concerned at all – 14 percent from black Americans having no local access compared to 8 percent from white Americans having no local access.
The wave of closures can be attributed to a few reasons such as mergers and acquisitions following 2008s Financial Crisis along with changing consumer preferences and improved banking technology luring customers away from brick-and-mortar locations towards online banks or fintech firms.
Retired Managing Director Clive Thompson believes we will eventually enter a crisis where banks will be closed followed by an announcement about Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC).
CBDCs | "At Some Point the World or a Country Is Going to Go Into a Crisis. When That Happens I Think They Will Close the Banks, You'll Wake Up On Sunday & Hear the News, Monday You'll Get the Announcement We're Getting the CBDCs."#CBDC#CBDCs#GreatReset#TheGreatReset… pic.twitter.com/W28QeLCdDW
— Clay "ReAwakening America" Clark (@TheClayClark) October 6, 2023
It’s clear that big-bank investment in tech is paying off as more consumers opt for convenience over traditional banking methods like going into a brick-and-mortar location but it’s important not forget those who may not have access to digital services due to lack resources or internet availability.
