Dive Brief:
- Bank of America opened its first Wisconsin retail branch Wednesday in Madison, followed by another branch Thursday in Milwaukee, with plans to open 17 more branches statewide through 2030, according to a spokesperson.
- The 19 new branches will create roughly 130 jobs throughout the state, the bank said in a press release. This is on top of the 170 people employed in Wisconsin within the bank’s Merrill Lynch, business banking and global corporate banking arms, which already have a presence there.
- The bank will enter Louisiana and Alabama next year, with 10 branches slated for the Birmingham and Huntsville, Alabama, areas starting in early 2027, and eight in the greater New Orleans area starting in the second half of the year.
Dive Insight:
The branch openings represent next steps in Bank of America’s long-standing $5 billion branch expansion plan which began in 2016.
“Our clients do more and more of their banking digitally, but when they’re buying a home, starting a business or planning for retirement, they want to sit down with someone they trust,” Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said in a prepared statement. “That’s why we keep building. Each new financial center in Wisconsin, Alabama and Louisiana is a commitment to the clients, employees and communities we serve there.”
Competitors JPMorgan Chase, PNC, TD and others are expanding their physical footprints. Banks opened more branches than they closed for three recent consecutive quarters for the first time since 2009, according to data from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition…