The well-known high street brand has revealed that its storefront branches will be getting upgrades as it looks to enhance its offer to consumers
Wells Fargo is set to unveil major changes to all its 4349 locations along with its digital banking operations.
The banking giant’s CEO, Charles W. Scharf, said in an earnings call on Friday that both the appearance of its brick-and-mortar branches and its online experience would be modernized to make them more amenable to users.
He said, per The Sun, that Wells Fargo: “Continued to invest in refurbishing our branches while at the same time making enhancements for account opening experience in both our digital and branch account.” The physical changes are set to be rolled out nationwide and will involve updating the carpeting, lighting and furniture as well as digital displays and paintwork.
Some of the new developments also include replacing ‘teller lines’ with ‘collaborative areas’ where staff can meet customers. It’s hoped these will produce more ‘consumer-focused’ spaces, per the Sun. The news comes as figures showed how in the first quarter of this year, a staggering 272 bank branches in the US filed for closures.
This information, as reported by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, follows a study by Self Financial, which indicates that this year’s bank closures could exceed last year’s massive shutdown of over 1,000 stores. The study predicts that by 2030, the number of bank branches could drop below 16,000, a historic low not witnessed since 1965.
Major institutions such as Bank of America, Chase, and TD Bank are among those that have submitted filings for branch closures. All financial institutions are mandated to submit these filings to the OCC, which are then published weekly. The data for the first quarter was gathered between January 1 and March 29.
Despite the rise in online banking, an author of the study told DailyMail.com that people are becoming more dependent on local banks. According to the OCC filings, Flagstar bank filed for the most closures, seeking to shut down 44 branches.
TD Bank followed closely behind, with plans to close up to 37 stores. Reports also suggest that the bank is anticipating layoffs in the near future. The bank recently informed DailyMail.com that these closures will inevitably result in some staff layoffs. US Bank is reportedly set to cut up to 25 locations, Wells Fargo around 32 locations and Bank of America approximately 16 locations, as per the filings.
