https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2022/12/27/wells-fargo-branch-closing-safeway-wfc-aci.html
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must be a slow news day
Really reaching there OP
Closing a single branch inside of a grocery store is hardly newsworthy
By Mark Calvey – Senior Reporter, San Francisco Business Times
Dec 27, 2022
Listen to this article 2 min
Wells Fargo said that it will close its branch inside the Safeway at 2020 Market St. in San Francisco on March 22.
The San Francisco bank (NYSE:WFC) told me Tuesday that it can’t say yet whether an ATM will remain at that Safeway location.
“We continually evaluate our branch network, and make adjustments based on changing customer needs, market factors and economic trends,” a Wells Fargo spokesperson said Tuesday. “This process leads to both expansion and closures.”
Wells Fargo operates a nearby branch at 557 Castro St. in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood.
Wells Fargo’s branch closure recently sparked speculation on Nextdoor that the entire Safeway (NYSE:ACI) store at 2020 Market St. is closing for redevelopment. But the grocery giant told me Tuesday: “Safeway does not have plans to close the store.”
Wells, along with other major banks, have looked to branch closures as a way to cut expenses and take advantage of technology to deliver more routine banking services at lower cost.
Wells Fargo had 4,612 retail bank branches at the end of September, down by 184 locations from a year earlier.
Bank branch openings and closings occur routinely, reflecting the growth of some communities and banks expanding their presence in various markets while other locations are no longer seen as needed and closed.
Banks opening in-store locations at grocery stores was a popular move in the 1990s as banks were eager to offer customers greater convenience to handle their banking. But mobile-banking technology has made it easier to deposit checks, make bill payments and even open bank accounts electronically. Banks have increasingly relied on brick-and-mortar branches to handle more complex financial matters such as getting a mortgage or taking advantage of wealth management services.
More changes to Wells Fargo’s branch network are coming in 2023.
“We’re probably several years behind what others have done in terms of looking at the efficiency of their branch network, not just in terms of number of branches but staffing inside those branches,” Wells CEO Charlie Scharf told investors at the Goldman Sachs 2022 U.S. Financial Services Conference in early December. “We still see the ability to drive expenses downward.”