Wells Fargo Is Opening Branches While Other Big Banks Are Shutting Them Down

According to The Street, Wells Fargo Corp WFC is going against the recent trend in banking by opening new branches across the country. While “Big 4” U.S. banking rivals Bank of America Corp BAC, JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM and Citigroup Inc C are all closing branches as part of the growing transition to mobile banking, Wells Fargo continues to expand its physical presence.
Branch numbers
Wells Fargo has opened 34 branches in the past two years. By contrast, Citigroup, which has been undergoing a transition to become sleeker and more efficient after barely surviving the Financial Crisis, reduced its number of branches by 15 percent during the past two years. JPMorgan trimmed down its total branches by less than 1.0 percent during that time, while Bank of America closed about 600 branches.
Mobile numbers
While most big banks are closing branches, the business of banking is rapidly going mobile. Mobile banking at the Big 4 is up 32 percent in the past two years. Wells Fargo is no exception, growing their mobile customer base by 19 percent in 2014.
Do banks still need branches?
With the growing shift to mobile, bank branches will be playing a smaller role in the future of banking. However, branches will likely continue to play a big role in certain parts of the business. “You still need to have branches, especially in how you interact with small businesses,” Sandler O’Neill analyst Jefferey Harte explains.
While customers have grown more comfortable with the convenience of making day-to-day transactions via mobile banking apps, many will continue to prefer to conduct large transactions, such as home mortgages and auto loans, in person at a local branch.

Disclosure: the author owns shares of Bank of America and Wells Fargo.