Bank of America announced plans Tuesday to extend its branch footprint into several midsize U.S. cities — part of an ongoing strategy to enter new markets even as it reduces its total branch count.
BofA said it will open new financial centers in Omaha, Nebraska; Dayton, Ohio; and Huntsville, Alabama, over the next three years. It also plans to expand its presence in Kentucky by placing five branches in Louisville.
Earlier this month, a BofA executive
The expansion of BofA's branch network is being planned alongside continuing investments in digital banking services, CEO Brian Moynihan said in a press release Tuesday.
"As part of our high tech and high touch approach, we continue to invest in digital capabilities, and to modernize our financial centers to reach more clients and meet their evolving needs," Moynihan said.
In Omaha, BofA plans to open two locations this year and a total of five by 2025. The branches in Huntsville and Dayton are expected to open by 2026, the bank said.
Aron Levine, president of preferred banking at BofA, said earlier this month that the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank will expand its physical presence from 83 of the top 100 U.S. markets to 90 by the end of 2025.
Over the last eight years, BofA has
In remarks at an industry conference, Levine said that BofA plans to expand quickly in new markets by opening only a small number of branches. The $3.2 trillion-asset bank has also been pruning its branch network in existing markets.
"We have a strategy of identifying areas where we can close two, open one," Levine said. "You'll see a net reduction, but it's more gradual than it has been."
BofA operates around 3,900 physical locations and plans to open more than 55 new branches this year. A three-year project to renovate and modernize 2,500 existing branch locations will be completed by the end of this year, the bank said Tuesday.
The bank's market expansion shows that physical locations are still "the engines that drive growth," according to Dave Martin, a consultant who specializes in retail banking strategies.
"When banks enter new markets, they know that most customers, even those that are not going to use a branch very often, will not even consider banking with you if there's not a physical location that they can access," Martin said in an interview earlier this month.
