Virtual tellers
Net bank and thrift closings totaled more than 11,000 between 2012 and 2018, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. There were 69 net closings in Michigan in 2018.
Comerica Bank closed over a dozen of its locations across Michigan and 40 branches nationwide in 2016, cutting about 800 jobs in the process.
Foot traffic is down 30% at Fifth Third Bank in the last five years, the bank’s president and CEO, Greg Carmichael, told the Chicago Tribune.
“Branches are still very relevant to customers, yet they are being used differently than they have in previous generations,” said Bobbi Jo Lucas, retail executive of Fifth Third Bank in Eastern Michigan. “Today, it’s about growing the relationship by delivering a holistic experience — digital and physical blending to perfectly meet their needs.”
Fifth Third says it expects to open over 50 NextGen banking centers by the end of 2020.
Fifth Third Bank opened its NextGen flagship branch in Chicago’s Willis Tower earlier this year in what the Chicago Tribune called a race “to create cozier, millennial-friendly spaces in the Chicago area.” The newspaper said the branch location is half the size of a traditional branch and called the location “Apple Store-esque.”
Of NextGen banking centers, Carmichael told the Tribune: “You’re going to be greeted, but there’s no teller. To have a person there waiting to do one of those transactions is not cost-effective.”
Contact Omar Abdel-Baqui: 313-2222514 or oabdel-baqui@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @omarabdelb.