Branch closures are slowing to a crawl—and banks are getting more intentional about what physical presence means in an omnichannel world. From January to September of last year, 542 branches closed—the fewest since 2011, according to S&P Global data cited in ProSight’s February 2026 Executive Report. As Rachel Koning Beals explains in her lead article, the shift isn’t a return to broad-based expansion. It’s about branches in the right places, built to do specific jobs.
Erinn Steffen, COO and financial specialty lead at Mower Agency, put it this way: “Banks must operate in an omnichannel reality. For branches, it’s less of a focus on shrinking their presence and more on sharpening their presence.”
Here are the practical takeaways bank leaders can use:
Branches show their value in high-stakes moments. Even as digital banking absorbs more transactional business, consumers—especially older customers—remain partial to the branch experience for advice, loan applications, and opening or closing accounts, according to ProSight’s “Banking Outlook: 2026 Trends” survey. Branch convenience—the availability of branches in the right locations—continues to rank high, and older age groups expressed stronger sentiment about branch convenience than they did a year earlier. Steffen warned that banks may be focusing marketing too heavily on younger audiences at the expense of older customers who still value branches. She cautioned: “I wonder if this hyper-fixation means we’re foregoing the fact that older customers have more money, more loyalty, and the ability to adopt more products.”
Some large banks are back in expansion mode. Truist, for example, has moved from consolidation to a plan to open 100 new branches and renovate 300 locations, targeting “economically vibrant markets,” including Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Dallas, Miami, Orlando, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.
Visibility still matters. Steve Reider, president of branch strategy consultancy Bancography, offered a blunt reminder: “Nobody can bank with you unless they know you exist.”
Dig deeper: The branch reset is just one theme in ProSight’s February 2026 “Omnichannel Banking” Executive Report, which examines how banks are refining channel strategy, strengthening community presence, and elevating high-value, in-person engagement. Download the full report to explore the complete findings.
