TD Bank has reported plans to shutter 37 branches across its East Coast footprint. The branches closed will impact multiple states including much of the east coast including several in Florida.
TD Bank reports over 10 million customers and approximately $316 million in total deposits. The banks biggest footprint is in the Northeast of the US and the mid-Altantic.
According to Boston.com, TD issued a statement on the closures explaining their model is evolving:
“TD is focused on building the bank of the future by evolving our model and enhancing capabilities to improve the customer experience. As part of this strategy, the bank regularly evaluates its physical store network and looks for opportunities to better align our network of stores to best serve our customers.”
This latest move by TD Bank reflects the banking institution’s strategic shift to adapt to evolving customer preferences and the accelerating trend toward digital banking and online service.
A report by the Federal Reserve Bank Philadelphia, published in 2024, called the phenomenon of closures creating “banking deserts.”
“We show that since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the total number of U.S. bank branches has declined by 5.6 percent, the number of banking deserts has increased by 217, and the population living in banking deserts has increased by over 760,000 people,” states the report.
The document goes on to tally the number of closures since the end of 2019 to mid 2023 at 5.6%, falling from 96,104 to 90,691 branches.
While physical banking deserts may be growing, on the other side of the equation banking Apps are now ubiquitous and most all services and transactions, including payments, can now be handled directly on an individual’s smartphone.
While closing bank branches is driven by the need to compete, as pure-play digital banks and neobanks step up their game, the closures can be challenging for those accustomed to queuing in line to speak to a teller or meeting with a local branch representative to discuss a loan or another service.
Over time, the headlines of branch closures will decline and the public will accept the inevitable and perhaps be better as more sophisticated services are made available to the masses.