Bank of America plans to close around 10% of its 6,100 branches in response to shrinking customer demand as people turn to online and mobile banking, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Citing people familiar with the conversation, the paper says bank CEO Kenneth Lewis outlined the plan to investors in a meeting last week.
Liam McGee, president, consumer and small-business, BofA also said there would be branch closures but was unable to say how many locations would be affected.
According to WSJ sources, McGee told investors that the spur for the closures is changing customer preferences. With rapidly increasing numbers of people using Web and mobile banking, people are visiting branches less often.
A recent Fiserv-sponsored survey found that more than two million US households have adopted online banking and bill payment during the last year, meaning the services are now used in over three quarters of homes with Internet access.
Although mobile banking is still in its infancy, this year will see a breakthrough for the technology in the US, as it moves from niche to mainstream, attracting 10 million active users, according to TowerGroup.
BofA Plans to Cut 10% of Branches - WSJ