CITIZENS Bank has confirmed the closures of at least 15 branches this month.
Some customers will have no choice but to move their money elsewhere before the locations shutter for good.
Citizens Bank is closing the doors of 15 branches in the coming months[/caption]
Customers must take action to secure their funds (stock image)[/caption]
The closures will take place across six states — Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island, per a recent filing Citizens Bank submitted with the U.S. Office of Comptroller of the Currency.
While the exact dates for many of the branches are unclear, Rhode Island customers can expect the Citizens Bank in East Providence to be eliminated after Christmas.
An official closure date is set for January 22, 2025, according to what a spokesperson for the bank told Providence Business News (PBN).
Six branches in Pennsylvania, four in Massachusetts, two in Michigan, one in New Hampshire, and one in Ohio will shut down sometime soon after.
The impact of the Citizens Bank shutdown in East Providence marks a trend of the financial institution’s downsizing in the state over the past 10 years.
There were 82 branches in Rhode Island in 2014, and only 53 will be left after the closure in January, per the outlet.
That means at least 29 locations have been axed in a decade.
A majority of them took place in 2020 when Citizens Bank closed 40 branches across Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
RETAIL REMOVAL
Each was located within Stop & Shop stores, a prominent northeastern supermarket chain.
Most of Citizens Bank’s recent closures took place at locations that resided within Stop & Shop.
Still, the institution held a 36% share of deposits in Rhode Island since 2014, even with all the closures, according to PBN.
That could be attributed to its move to improve its digital banking services.
CUSTOMERS REASSURED
“We’ve been on a journey at Citizens to evolve how our customers bank with us, and we continually review customer patterns to evolve and adjust strategy across our network,” the bank told the publication in a statement.
“We look forward to continuing to serve customers through our neighboring branches on Newport Avenue and East Avenue in Pawtucket, both about two miles away, as well as through our online and mobile banking platforms.”
Citizens Bank Closures
Citizens Bank has confirmed the closure of 15 branches across six states. Each will take place over the coming months. The U.S. Sun has compiled a list of the affected states below:
- Pennsylvania (6)
- Massachusetts (4)
- Michigan (2)
- Ohio (1)
- New Hampshire (1)
- Rhode Island (1)
Citizens Bank also reassured customers that “branches remain a key part of our overall strategy” and that it was “committed to supporting and engaging within the communities we serve.”
Employees at the closing branches across the six states were also notified and were given options moving forward for other open positions.
BANK BLOODBATH
Several banks have closed branches this summer, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and JPMorgan Chase.
JPMorgan Chase closed 18 branches, Wells Fargo followed with 17, and Bank of America shuttered at least 16.
In total 79 branches closed in the span of a single month.
Brick-and-mortar banking, in general, has taken hits over the years, with at least 20,000 disappearing since 2009, per data from the FDIC.
