Wells Fargo, Chase, Bank of America, Regions, PNC and Capital One have all reduced their branch networks by at least 100 branches in the year to end June 2017.
But by international comparisons, the US remains over-branched and there remains scope for further large scale branch closures.
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As US branch rightsizing programmes accelerate, Capital One has been the most aggressive.
In the past year, it has axed a net 146 outlets, reducing its network by 18% from 811 to 665 units.
One in three Capital One branches have closed since its network peaked at 991 outlets in 2010.
Georgia-headquartered SunTrust has shuttered 8% or a net 114 outlets in the past year, reducing its network to 1,311 outlets.
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By GlobalDataSince the financial crisis, SunTrust branch numbers have declined by 25% from a peak of 1,759 branches in 2008.
In the year to end June, Alabama-headquartered Regions also ramped up its branch rightsizing, with a net reduction of 107 units or 7% of its outlets.
It now operates 1,492 branches, down from a peak of 2,087 units in 2007.
In total, there are now 80,638 FDIC-insured commercial bank branches in the US, down from a peak of 83,600 as recently as 2012.
Such figures suggest that the US remains significantly over-branched.
Indeed, there remains twice as many branches per head in the US compared to the UK.
More than 80,000 branches to serve a US population of 326 million brings out 24 branches per 100,000 people. By contrast with the UK, 8,000 branches serve 66 million equalling 12 branches per 100,000 people.
Together, the largest 30 US retail banks by branches (listed below) account for more than 41,000 outlets – more than one half of all US branches.
400 branches axed by the US Big 3 in the past year
Wells Fargo (down a net 126 units), Chase (down by 129) and Bank of America (-150) all closed more than 2% of their branches in the past year.
Wells Fargo remains the largest US bank ranked by branches with 6,091 outlets, down by only 10% since the crisis.
Wells’ network peaked at 6,795 outlets in 2009 following its acquisition of Wachovia and its 3,363 branches.
Chase has been the most enthusiastic advocate of the branch channel since the crisis, at least in terms of numbers. In 2008, as the banking crisis peaked, Chase operated 3,195 units. The acquisition of the failed Washington Mutual added a further 2,213 units with Chase ending 2010 with just over 5,250 units.
It then bucked the trend towards shrinking branch numbers by adding to its branch channel with numbers peaking at 5,697 in 2013.
Since then, Chase’s network has reduced by just over 400 branches to 5,286 at the end of June.
By contrast Bank of America’s branch network has reduced each year since peaking at 6,238 in 2009.
In the past eight years, Bank of America has axed more than one in four of its branches, ending the first half of 2017 with 4,604 outlets.
Citi remains one of the most aggressive branch closers; its US network peaked at 1,079 units in 2008. Since then more than one-in-three Citi branches have closed, leaving just 719 at the end of June.
Citi is now only the 16th-largest bank by branches but retains its spot as the fourth-largest US bank as measured by deposits.
Even branch evangelists Umpqua has got in on the act, shrinking its network from a peak of 363 units in 2014 to 305 outlets at the of June this year.
Keycorp is now the 10th largest US bank by branches with 1,235 outlets, up from 961 last year following its $3.7bn acquisition of the 300 branch strong First Niagara.
Huntington has more than doubled its branch network since the crisis following a number of acquisitions. In 2007, its network was a modest 424 outlets; by June this year it operated 1,056 branches.
HSBC dropped out of the top 30 US branch ranking following its sale of 195 New York based branches to First Niagara for $1bn in 2011. HSBC now operates a US network of 230 units, down from 486 in 2010.
By deposits, HSBC remains a significant US player, ranking the 14th-largest bank ranked by this measure with $128bn as at end June 2017.
Other major players ranking prominently by deposits with limited or no branch networks include digital lenders Ally Financial (total deposits $79bn) and USAA ($68bn).
Largest 30 US Retail Banks Ranked By Branches as at end June 2017
Wells Fargo 6,091 (6,217 as at June 2016-branch numbers peaked at 6,795 in 2009)
Chase 5,286 (5,415 as at June 2016 – branch numbers peaked at 5,697 in 2013)
Bank of America 4,604 (4,754 as at June 2016 – branch numbers peaked at 6,238 in 2009)
US Bancorp 3,173 (3,222 as at June 2016 – branch numbers peaked at 3,238 in 2014)
PNC 2,561 (2,687 as at June 2016 – branch numbers peaked at 3,044 in 2012)
BB&T 2,192 (2,255 as at June 2016 – branch numbers peaked at 2,255 last year)
Regions 1,492 (1,599 as at June 2016 – branch numbers peaked at 2,087 in 2007)
SunTrust 1,311 (1,425 as at June 2016 – branch numbers peaked at 1,759 in 2008)
Toronto Dominion 1,279 (1,288 as at June 2016 – branch numbers peaked at 1,336 in 2013)
Keycorp 1,235 (961 as at June 2016 – 2017 figure includes the acquisition of 300 First Niagara branches)
Citizens 1,187 (1,219 as at June 2016 – branch numbers peaked at 1,654 in 2008)
Fifth Third 1,174 (1,208 as at June 2016 – branch numbers peaked at 1,370 in 2011)
Huntington 1,056 (807 as at June 2016 – 2017 figure includes the acquisition of branches from FirstMerit)
M&T 865 (873 as at June 2016 – branch numbers peaked at 873 last year)
Citigroup 719 (758 as at June 2016 – branch numbers peaked at 1,079 in 2008)
Santander 719 (710 as at June 2016 – branch numbers peaked at 807 in 2007)
BBVA 670 (671 as at June 2016 – branch numbers peaked at 759 in 2010)
Capital One 665 (811 as at June 2016 – branch numbers peaked at 991 in 2010)
BNP Paribas 622 (623 as at June 2016 – branch numbers peaked at 721 in 2010)
Bank of Montreal 594 (600 as at June 2016 – branch numbers peaked at 708 in 2012)
First Citizens 554
Comerica 439
Zions 439
Peoples United 406
MUFJ 361
TCF National 339
Umpqua 305
New York Community Bancorp 262
Synovus 248
Popular Inc 235
At the end of June 2017, 18 US financial institutions had deposits of more than £100bn.
For almost 20 years Bank of America ranked the largest US bank as measured by deposits. No more – Chase has taken the top slot according to data from the FDIC.
JPMorgan Chase ended the first half with total deposits of $1.321trn just ahead of Bank of America with $1.287trn.
With total deposits of $1.258trn Wells Fargo is a close-up third.
Largest US Banks ranked by deposits ($bn as at end June 2017)
Chase 1,311
Bank of America 1,287
Wells Fargo 1,258
Citigroup 505
US Bancorp 329
Capital One 289
PNC 258
Toronto Dominion 246
BB&T 163
SunTrust 163
Charles Schwab 162
Morgan Stanley 150
Bank of New York Mellon 145
HSBC 128
Citizens 118
Goldman Sachs 106
Fifth Third 105
Keycorp 105
