JPMorgan, PNC lead net closers of bank branches in Illinois

US banks continue to close more branches in Illinois than they are opening, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and PNC Financial Services Group Inc. leading the most active net closers.

In the 12 months to April 30, banks logged 61 net closings in the state, against 13 net openings, S&P Global Market Intelligence data shows. JPMorgan and PNC closed a combined 29 branches and opened six branches.

JPMorgan is consolidating branches "where there's logic" while continuing to open new branches across the US and planning to add over 500 branches by 2027, Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon said.

"We like our branch strategy ... and the branches, of course, have changed their nature over time, more advisory than operational, et cetera. And we can always adjust the fleet," Dimon said at a May 29 conference.

PNC Chairman and CEO William Demchak, meanwhile, said that most of the bank's branch build is in Texas; Denver, Colo.; and "hot markets of transient communities that are growing quickly." PNC previously announced its commitment to spending roughly $1 billion toward opening over 100 new locations through 2028.

"At the same time, by 2028, we will have finished refurbishing 100% of our own branches. And then, of course, we'll continue the process of thinning and optimizing where we've had legacy branches over time," Demchak said. "So none of that changes, by the way, any of our expense guidance or anything else. It's just part of how we run the bank, but we're going to have to invest into these markets."

Commerce Bancshares Inc. ranked as the third-most active net branch closer with six net closings, followed by Huntington Bancshares Inc., Bank of Montreal and Associated Banc-Corp with four net closings each.

Bank of America Corp. also landed on the most active net branch closers list as it had two net closings in Illinois.

BofA Chairman, CEO and President Brian Moynihan believes both branches and a digital presence are important given that "half the sales are digital, which means the other half are not digital."

"Even though it looks like you're down 2,000 branches ... there's a massive change underneath that. And so that's what the team has been optimizing, and that allows us to invest in the future," Moynihan said at a May 30 conference. "So what are we doing? If you look down the top 100 markets ... we plan to get to a top position in all those markets, and that's a lot of work ahead of us."

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On the other hand, Longview Capital Corp. was the most active net opener of branches in Illinois in the last 12 months, with two branches opened. Eleven companies, including Wintrust Financial Corp. and Great Southern Bancorp Inc., took the No. 2 spot with one net branch opening each.

Quarterly trend

In the quarter ended March 31, Illinois recorded 16 net bank branch closings, unchanged from the previous three-month period and down from 19 a year ago, Market Intelligence data shows.

Banks across the US logged 229 net branch closings in the first quarter, reducing the total active branches to 77,916. Following record-shattering closures, overall US bank branch closings have been slow since mid-2022 as institutions realized they needed to strike a balance between accelerating digital adoption and keeping a physical footprint for competition.

Amid continued branch closings, the number of full-time employees (FTEs) at banks in Illinois dropped 2.1% quarter over quarter and 3.9% year over year to 73,496 as of March 31.

The FTE count had a big sequential jump in the first quarter of 2023, mainly due to Bank of Montreal's acquisition of Bank of the West during the period. BMO's unit, Chicago-based BMO Harris Bank, took over Bank of the West's operations across the US.