Why are banks closing in the US?
Economic Factors: Higher interest rates also often lead to slower economic growth, meaning people are spending less money. Inflation, recessions, and housing market crashes can all cause banks to shut down.
Analysts say banks are investing more in their online platforms, where customers prefer to handle increasingly more of their banking transactions.
What happens to your money if your bank closes. If you're worried about your bank's health, you should make sure the institution is part of the FDIC -- or, in the case of credit unions, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). If it isn't, it's time to find a new place to move your money.
2024 in Brief
There are no bank failures in 2024. See detailed descriptions below. For more bank failure information on a specific year, select a date from the drop down menu to the right or select a month within the graph.
Bank of Scotland, Halifax and Lloyds, which are all part of the Lloyds Banking Group, will shut at least 176 of their bank branches in 2024 and 2025, after the Group announced a further 53 closures. The banks had a combined total of 1,154 branches as of Thursday 14 March.
Powell: 'There will be bank failures' caused by commercial real estate losses. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Thursday he expects to see some banks fail due to their exposure to the commercial real estate sector, which has declined significantly in value following the shift to remote work.
If a bank closes, what happens to your money depends on whether the account is sold to another institution or the FDIC takes responsibility for paying out depositors. In most cases, accounts are sold to another bank, and you will automatically have access to your funds at the new institution.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) insures bank accounts up to $250,000 per depositor, per account category. 1 So, unless your bank is not insured by the FDIC or you have deposited more than the FDIC limit, your money is safe if your bank fails.
For the most part, if you keep your money at an institution that's FDIC-insured, your money is safe — at least up to $250,000 in accounts at the failing institution. You're guaranteed that $250,000, and if the bank is acquired, even amounts over the limit may be smoothly transferred to the new bank.
| SHFS | SHF Holdings | $0.50 |
|---|---|---|
| WAL | Western Alliance | $27.32 |
| ECBK | ECB Bancorp | $11.24 |
| PACW | PacWest Bancorp | $5.97 |
| FFWM | First Foundation | $4.35 |
Are banks failing in the US?
In all, five banks failed, the most in a single year since 2017. The failures come at a considerable cost to more than 100 surviving banks that have more than $5 billion of assets.
Now the nation's largest banks seem to be rushing to shut them down. Over the past 12 months, Wells Fargo has closed 258 branches, JPMorgan Chase 165 and Bank of America nearly 100, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
While brick and mortar banks are not going away anytime soon, the online banking trend is undeniable. It's clear that financial institutions should be focused on increasing their flexibility and adaptability, and offer a competitive customer experience for consumers with a wide variety of needs.
The collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in March 2023—then the second- and third-largest bank failures in U.S. history—took consumers by surprise. Subsequently, three more banks failed in 2023: First Republic Bank in May, Heartland Tri-State Bank in July and Citizens Bank of Sac City in November.
Key Insights & Stats:
Bank branch numbers in the US have fallen by 6.5% since 2012. Based on current trends the number of physical banks could fall to fewer than 16,000 by 2030, a number not seen since 1965. Current trends suggest that all bank branches could be closed by 2034.
We're not closing our branches
This means that everywhere we have a branch, we promise to still be there until at least the start of 2028.
Earlier last year Silicon Valley Bank failed March 10, 2023, and then Signature Bank failed two days later, ending the unusual streak of more than 800 days without a bank failure. Before Citizens Bank failed in November 2023, Heartland Tri-State Bank failed July 28, 2023 and First Republic Bank failed May 1, 2023.
| Bank NameBank | CityCity | Closing DateClosing |
|---|---|---|
| Heartland Tri-State Bank | Elkhart | July 28, 2023 |
| First Republic Bank | San Francisco | May 1, 2023 |
| Signature Bank | New York | March 12, 2023 |
| Silicon Valley Bank | Santa Clara | March 10, 2023 |
Recently, a report posted on the Social Science Research Network found that 186 banks in the United States are at risk of failure or collapse due to rising interest rates and a high proportion of uninsured deposits.
While fully insured deposits are paid promptly after the failure of the bank, the disbursem*nts of uninsured funds may take place over several years based on the timing in the liquidation of the failed bank assets.
Can a bank deny you access to your money?
A bank account freeze means you can't take or transfer money out of the account. Bank accounts are typically frozen for suspected illegal activity, a creditor seeking payment, or by government request. A frozen account may also be a sign that you've been a victim of identity theft.
Still, the FDIC itself doesn't have unlimited money. If enough banks flounder at once, it could deplete the fund that backstops deposits. However, experts say even in that event, bank patrons shouldn't worry about losing their FDIC-insured money.
Bank of America is just one place below JPMorgan Chase on both the 2023 G-SIBs list and the Federal Reserve's list of the largest U.S. banks, which is why it was chosen in our research as one of the safest banks.
Generally, credit unions are viewed as safer than banks, although deposits at both types of financial institutions are usually insured at the same dollar amounts. The FDIC insures deposits at most banks, and the NCUA insures deposits at most credit unions.
The standard deposit insurance coverage limit is $250,000 per depositor, per FDIC-insured bank, per ownership category. Deposits held in different ownership categories are separately insured, up to at least $250,000, even if held at the same bank.
