Banks accelerate branch consolidation
A 20 percent reduction in the number of U.S. bank branches over the next five years? That’s the prediction. Customers are switching to online and U.S. banks are reassessing their brick-and-mortar presence. If this projection becomes reality, the U.S. would lose about 18,000 of its roughly 90,000 bank branches.
This may be bad news for landlords, but will offer opportunities for investors and other tenants. Bank branches often sit on prominent high-traffic corner lots. Restaurants, dry cleaners, law firms, medical practices, insurance brokerages, coffeehouses, and art galleries have already repurposed bank spaces.