Dive Brief:

• Bank of America is on track to open more than 165 bank branches across 63 markets by the end of 2026, including 40 this year, the lender announced Monday.

• The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank opened its first financial center in Louisville, Kentucky, on Monday and plans to open five locations in the city by the end of 2025.

• The expansion comes as the bank continues its consolidation strategy of closing two branches for every new one it opens.

Dive Insight:

Monday’s Louisville opening stood as an update to expansion plans Bank of America announced in June 2023 – namely, to launch in nine new markets and four new states by 2026. 

“We are reaching more and more clients through the expansion and modernization of our financial centers,” Aron Levine, president of preferred banking at Bank of America, said in a statement Monday. “While most clients are using our digital capabilities for their everyday banking, they are visiting our centers for in-person conversations about their more complex financial needs and advice on their life priorities and financial goals.” 

Bank of America opened its first branch in Lexington, Kentucky, in 2021. The focus on Louisville will boost the number of branches in the state to 10 by the end of 2027. The bank serves roughly 95,000 consumers and small-business owners in the state, it said.

“By expanding our capabilities in this market, we are able to better serve clients, and further drive local community growth and development,” Felicia Lewis, Bank of America’s southeast division executive, said in a statement Monday.

Bank of America also intends to open its first financial centers in Boise, Idaho, early next year, it said. Opening branches in Louisville and Boise has been part of the bank’s initial plans. The other markets in which the bank aimed to establish its presence by 2026 are Omaha, Nebraska; Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin; New Orleans; Dayton, Ohio; and Birmingham and Huntsville, Alabama.

By the end of the target expansion, Bank of America will have financial centers in over 200 markets across 39 states.

Bank of America has invested more than $5 billion in its financial centers since its current expansion project began in 2014. CEO Brian Moynihan said at a Barclays conference this month that branch investments are crucial for strengthening customer relationships across the bank.

"It's one of the reasons why our fundamental growth rate outstrips the industry," Moynihan said, according to Yahoo Finance.

Bank of America has launched more than 100 centers in the past two years, it said.

Bank of America ranks third in brick-and-mortar locations among U.S. banks, with 3,975 branches as of March, according to Statista. JPMorgan Chase leads with 5,110 branches nationwide, followed by Wells Fargo with 4,349, the outlet reported. 

Early this year, JPMorgan Chase said it planned to add more than 500 branches to its footprint by 2027, focusing on underrepresented areas by opening new branches in Boston, Charlotte, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, and the area surrounding Washington, D.C. The nation’s biggest bank said it intends to renovate 1,700 existing branches and hire 3,500 for its branch network.