PNC plans to invest roughly $1 billion to open 100 new branches and renovate existing locations through 2028, the bank announced Wednesday.
The investment in coast-to-coast expansion includes building and opening new offices in key locations such as Denver, Miami, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Austin, Texas, the statement said. Additionally, the lender will renovate more than 1,200 of its 2,300 existing branches nationwide.
“Our branch network is the heartbeat of our Retail business, offering friendly and convenient service to the millions of customers who step through our doors every single month,” Alex Overstrom, head of PNC retail banking, said in a statement. “Whether to finance a home, deposit a check, or save for retirement, our customers count on our 15,000 branch team members to support their holistic financial needs.”
The new and renovated branches will also include features to create a better overall customer experience, including more welcoming and private spaces for in-person conversations since the lender sees “more in-branch customer interactions shift from transaction-based to advice-based,” a PNC spokesperson told Banking Dive via email. The customers will be able to conduct everyday financial transactions through ATMs, video banking machines, and other options.
“[T]his investment is expected to create hundreds of jobs nationwide,” the spokesperson noted, declining to share an exact number of new hires.
PNC’s branch expansion follows JPMorgan Chase’s announcement last week that it plans to add more than 500 branches to its footprint by 2027, focusing on underrepresented areas. The nation’s biggest bank said it intends to renovate 1,700 existing branches and hire 3,500 for its network.
Other banks, too, have signaled expansion in the past year. Bank of America said in June it would open branches in nine new markets — including Milwaukee, New Orleans; Birmingham, Alabama; Omaha, Nebraska; and Louisville, Kentucky — and four new states by 2026. Through the expansion, though, the bank expects to close two branches for each new one it opens.
TD said in May it plans to open 150 U.S. branches by 2027 and double its hiring of wealth advisers. The growth would focus on the Southeast, in areas such as South Florida, Atlanta and North Carolina.
Fifth Third, too, is looking specifically at the Southeast, with plans to open 31 branches in the region this year. The bank expects to open 25 branches in South Carolina alone by 2029, it said last month.
PNC’s plans to expand come after a year in which the Pittsburgh lender closed roughly 239 of its branches in 2023, or about 10%, according to American Banker. The bank in October said it also would reduce its headcount by 4%, or roughly 2,400 employees.
Overstrom, in his statement Wednesday, however, said the expansion “further underscores our commitment to continuously invest in our branch network to effectively meet the needs of our customers in an evolving financial landscape.”
