PNC Shrinks Branch Network

PNC Bank shrunk its branch network by 160 offices last year, the most of any bank nationwide except for Bank of America, an analysis released Monday by SNL Financial found.

Collectively, banks cut their branch total by 1,487 locations in 2013, SNL said, as the industry contended with persistently low interest rates, slow loan growth and escalating costs.

Lenders large and small “grappled with weak revenue growth and heavy [regulatory] compliance costs that are motivating them to reduce the fixed expenses tied to large branch networks,” said SNL, a Charlottesville, Va.-based research firm.

PNC, Pittsburgh’s dominant bank and the eighth biggest nationwide, closed 182 branches and opened 22 others across its 19-state footprint in 2013 for a net loss of 160, SNL said. Bank of America, the nation’s second-biggest bank, had a net loss of 189 branches.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/business/2014/01/28/PNC-shrinks-branch-network/stories/201401280041#ixzz2rjqmajiY

Fulton Financial To Cut 14 Branches, Including 1 In Lancaster County

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lancaster County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Fulton Financial is closing 14 branches, including one in Lancaster County, as part of a cost-cutting program worth $8 million annually.

The action was disclosed Wednesday by E. Philip Wenger, chairman, president and chief executive officer.

Wenger spoke during a conference call to discuss Fulton’s fourth-quarter and 2013 results with analysts who follow the firm.

Fulton is closing six branches in Pennsylvania, five in Maryland and three in New Jersey by the end of the second quarter.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/business/local_business/fulton-financial-to-cut-branches-including-in-lancaster-county/article_10b11eee-8436-11e3-bf19-001a4bcf6878.html

National Penn Bank Says It Will Close Nine Branches, Cut Staff

After three years of stable operating expenses, and positive returns for investors in 2013, the owner of National Penn bank said this week it is cutting staff and consolidating nine branch locations.

“The consistency of our financial performance with such a strong return on assets is a tribute to the efforts of our entire team,” National Penn President and CEO Scott V. Fainor said in a statement.

National Penn Bancshares Inc.’s restructuring also includes previously announced plans to move its headquarters from Boyertown, Pa., to Center City Allentown.

Read more: http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/breaking-news/index.ssf/2014/01/national_penn_says_it_will_clo.html

PNC Bank To Close 10 Branches In Pittsburgh Region

PNC Bank will close 10 more branches in the region within the next 90 days as part of an effort to cut costs and focus on serving customers who increasingly are banking online and via smartphones.

The closures, which include the last remaining bank branch in the city of Clairton, come on top of four other branches shuttered earlier in the year.

Spokeswoman Marcey Zwiebel declined to say how many more branches in the region might be closed this year, saying decisions beyond 90 days may not be final.

Pittsburgh‘s biggest bank has said it planned to close about 200 branches this year across its footprint in 19 states and Washington, D.C., which is about 7 percent of its network of roughly 2,900 offices.  The bank closed 65 branches last year.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/business/news/pnc-bank-to-close-10-branches-in-region-687669/#ixzz2TQEP42Sq