Wells Fargo reveals three more branches to shut down on Nov 1 as ‘banking bloodbath’ sweeps nation

WELLS Fargo has confirmed additional closures and three more stores are scheduled to close in November.

A number of major banks are closing branches as technology increases the convenience of online banking and reduces the need for a physical location.

2

2

Wells Fargo has announced the closure of two banks in Virginia and one in Pennsylvania.

According to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the bank, which serves over 4,000 branches across the country, has requested the closure of over 100 branches this year.

The downtown Richmond branch in Monroe Ward is scheduled to close at 12pm on November 1.

However, users can move their business to another branch less than three kilometers away.

The closure of the Monroe Ward location makes it the ninth Wells Fargo Richmond location to close in recent years, including two that will close on October 18.

Changing consumer trends are blamed for the widespread closures.

In an email statement, the bank said: “This is not a decision taken lightly, nor is it taken lightly.”

“Branch continues to play an important role in the way we serve our customers and we continuously evaluate our branch network in light of changing customer needs, increasing use of digital banking and market factors.”

The second Wells Fargo closure announced for Virginia is in Charlottesville.

The bank currently has three branches in the region, but that number is expected to drop to just two as the Ivy Road location also closes on November 1.

Meanwhile, on the same day, customers in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania will lose their Airport Road location due to reduced foot traffic.

A statement from the bank to WFMZ said, “Wells Fargo has made the difficult decision to close Airport Road on Wednesday November 1, 2023.”

There will still be three other branches nearby for customers to use.

Speaking to the Albuquerque Business Journal, Ruben Pulido, a spokesman for Wells Fargo, said, “As customer preferences and transaction patterns change, so do our stores and the experiences customers have there.”

However, concerns of a banking bloodbath have risen in light of other OCC filings by major banks such as Associated Bank, Bank of America and PNC.

Bank of America has announced the closure of several branches in San Marcos, Los Angeles and Anaheim in recent weeks.

In addition, PNC will close at least 203 stores by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Associated Bank is expected to lose seven branches by Nov. 17, leaving just over 190 locations.

All banks blamed increasing banking technology for the closure of brick-and-mortar locations.

The US Sun has reached out to Wells Fargo for comment.