Accessible Version

Bank Branches and COVID-19: Where are Banks Closing Branches during the Pandemic? Accessible Data

Figure 1: Number of Branches of Commercial Banks, Credit Unions, Thrifts, and Savings and Loan Association Banks, 1990-2020
Year Number of Branches
1990 75855
1991 77350
1992 78716
1993 80267
1994 82086
1995 84540
1996 87759
1997 90848
1998 93407
1999 95845
2000 96673
2001 90700
2002 91250
2003 92469
2004 94223
2005 96373
2006 98770
2007 101225
2008 102630
2009 102409
2010 101661
2011 101393
2012 100535
2013 99347
2014 98354
2015 97305
2016 95999
2017 94516
2018 93284
2019 92418
2020 90398
2021 88926

Note: Count reflects the number of branches as of the last day of each year.

Source: Author’s calculations using S&P Global Intelligence, SNL Branch Analytics

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Figure 2: Number of Branches Closed by Month, 2011-2021
Year closed Month Average
2020 (3-month rolling average) Jan 183.33
2020 (3-month rolling average) Feb 182.67
2020 (3-month rolling average) Mar 209.00
2020 (3-month rolling average) Apr 217.33
2020 (3-month rolling average) May 227.67
2020 (3-month rolling average) Jun 224.00
2020 (3-month rolling average) Jul 276.00
2020 (3-month rolling average) Aug 262.33
2020 (3-month rolling average) Sep 273.67
2020 (3-month rolling average) Oct 332.67
2020 (3-month rolling average) Nov 445.00
2020 (3-month rolling average) Dec 523.33
2021 (3-month rolling average) Jan 478.00
2021 (3-month rolling average) Feb 361.33
2021 (3-month rolling average) Mar 353.00
2021 (3-month rolling average) Apr 389.33
2021 (3-month rolling average) May 410.67
2021 (3-month rolling average) Jun 363.33
2011-2019 Average Jan 194.33
2011-2019 Average Feb 190.11
2011-2019 Average Mar 228.78
2011-2019 Average Apr 222.67
2011-2019 Average May 248.33
2011-2019 Average Jun 285.11
2011-2019 Average Jul 268.00
2011-2019 Average Aug 189.89
2011-2019 Average Sep 208.22
2011-2019 Average Oct 232.00
2011-2019 Average Nov 211.22
2011-2019 Average Dec 246.89

Note: Data is updated through June 2021

Source: Author’s calculations using S&P Global Intelligence, SNL Branch Analytics

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Figure 3: Indexed Total Nonfarm Private Payroll, Depository Credit Employees, and Commercial Banking Employees
Date Total Nonfarm Private Payroll All Employees, Depository Credit Intermediation All Employees, Commercial Banking
Jan-15 91.70 96.55 95.84
Feb-15 91.88 96.36 95.51
Mar-15 92.07 96.13 95.34
Apr-15 92.31 96.20 95.30
May-15 92.49 96.28 95.73
Jun-15 92.58 96.25 95.85
Jul-15 92.66 96.26 96.20
Aug-15 92.75 96.26 96.22
Sep-15 92.91 96.28 95.69
Oct-15 93.03 96.33 95.69
Nov-15 93.13 96.42 96.17
Dec-15 93.38 96.46 96.45
Jan-16 93.57 96.61 96.66
Feb-16 93.78 96.61 96.66
Mar-16 94.03 96.95 97.29
Apr-16 94.11 97.09 97.29
May-16 94.13 97.04 97.41
Jun-16 94.41 97.10 97.70
Jul-16 94.49 97.14 98.00
Aug-16 94.57 97.25 97.96
Sep-16 94.79 97.42 97.52
Oct-16 94.88 97.40 97.52
Nov-16 95.18 97.44 97.67
Dec-16 95.29 97.65 98.21
Jan-17 95.39 97.98 98.40
Feb-17 95.56 97.87 98.31
Mar-17 95.68 97.99 98.42
Apr-17 95.79 97.99 98.32
May-17 95.95 98.01 98.53
Jun-17 96.05 98.05 98.89
Jul-17 96.10 98.12 99.11
Aug-17 96.06 98.12 98.99
Sep-17 95.99 97.99 98.04
Oct-17 96.45 98.06 98.08
Nov-17 96.70 98.07 98.16
Dec-17 96.89 98.05 98.27
Jan-18 97.02 97.99 98.17
Feb-18 97.28 98.04 98.29
Mar-18 97.41 98.11 98.32
Apr-18 97.61 98.26 98.42
May-18 97.77 98.48 98.85
Jun-18 97.87 98.80 99.56
Jul-18 98.02 98.81 99.68
Aug-18 98.15 98.83 99.39
Sep-18 98.22 98.94 98.78
Oct-18 98.42 99.14 99.00
Nov-18 98.51 99.19 99.18
Dec-18 98.62 99.28 99.38
Jan-19 98.68 99.40 99.53
Feb-19 98.67 99.56 99.68
Mar-19 98.88 99.47 99.65
Apr-19 99.09 99.52 99.47
May-19 99.05 99.54 99.57
Jun-19 99.18 99.62 100.19
Jul-19 99.29 99.61 100.43
Aug-19 99.38 99.68 100.15
Sep-19 99.57 99.71 99.40
Oct-19 99.62 99.69 99.32
Nov-19 99.75 99.87 99.58
Dec-19 99.86 100.04 99.87
Jan-20 100.00 100.14 99.94
Feb-20 100.16 100.37 100.20
Mar-20 100.00 100.00 100.00
Apr-20 84.99 99.33 99.08
May-20 87.44 99.39 99.40
Jun-20 90.81 99.27 99.78
Jul-20 90.99 99.01 99.49
Aug-20 91.35 98.91 99.15
Sep-20 91.99 98.81 98.10
Oct-20 92.31 98.70 97.82
Nov-20 92.55 98.41 97.77
Dec-20 92.49 98.14 97.59
Jan-21 92.64 97.94 97.34
Feb-21 92.78 97.71 97.16
Mar-21 93.18 97.51 96.96
Apr-21 93.66 97.44 96.66
May-21 94.34 97.12 96.30
Jun-21 94.92 96.89 96.39
Jul-21 95.17 96.84 96.26

Note: Indexed to March 2021

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

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Figure 4: Year-over-Year Net Change in the Count and Percent of Branches by Metro Status

Panel A: Net count

Number of Branches

Year Non-Metro (LMI) Metro (MUI)
2011 -280 -374
2012 -418 -700
2013 -461 -944
2014 -344 -887
2015 -415 -860
2016 -415 -1115
2017 -411 -1270
2018 -402 -1026
2019 -283 -750
2020 -537 -1700

Source: Author’s calculations using S&P Global Intelligence, SNL Branch Analytics

Panel B: Percent Change

Percent

Year Non-Metro (LMI) Metro (MUI)
2011 -1.12 -0.49
2012 -1.70 -0.93
2013 -1.90 -1.27
2014 -1.43 -1.20
2015 -1.75 -1.17
2016 -1.78 -1.54
2017 -1.79 -1.78
2018 -1.78 -1.46
2019 -1.26 -1.08
2020 -2.45 -2.50

Source: Author’s calculations using S&P Global Intelligence, SNL Branch Analytics

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Figure 5: Year-over-Year Net Change in the Count and Percent of Branches by LMI Status

Panel A: Net Count

Number of Branches

Year Non-Metro (LMI) Metro (MUI)
2011 -212 -461
2012 -251 -896
2013 -312 -1123
2014 -243 -1015
2015 -227 -1075
2016 -236 -1321
2017 -280 -1416
2018 -227 -1220
2019 -153 -884
2020 -306 -1948

Source: Author’s calculations using S&P Global Intelligence, SNL Branch Analytics

Panel B: Percent change

Percent

Year Non-Metro (LMI) Metro (MUI)
2011 -1.05 -0.57
2012 -1.25 -1.11
2013 -1.58 -1.41
2014 -1.24 -1.29
2015 -1.17 -1.38
2016 -1.23 -1.72
2017 -1.48 -1.87
2018 -1.21 -1.64
2019 -0.82 -1.20
2020 -1.67 -2.70

Source: Author’s calculations using S&P Global Intelligence, SNL Branch Analytics

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Figure 6. Locations of Banking Deserts

This map shows the locations of new and preexisting banking deserts. New banking deserts are represented by dark red points and preexisting banking deserts are represented by hollow, dark grey points. Only a small number of branch closures resulted in a new banking desert. The lower Midwest, including Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa had few new or preexisting deserts. This is also true of states in the Northeast Corridor including New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Deserts are more concentrated in states in the southwest, pacific northwest, and the south. California, Alaska, Maine and northern parts of New York state also had higher concentrations of branch deserts.

Raw Data Elements: CSV | Data Definitions (TXT)

Note: Each point on the map corresponds to a tract centroid. Data is updated through July 20, 2021.

Source: Author’s calculations using S&P Global Intelligence, SNL Branch Analytics

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Last Update: July 25, 2022