Bank of America Plans to Open Over 165 New Branches by End of 2026, According to Reuters

By Saeed Azhar

Bank of America has announced plans to open more than 165 branches across the United States by the end of 2026, positioning itself to compete actively with JPMorgan Chase in the expansion of its branch presence.

As digital banking services become more prevalent, banks have had to redesign their branches, focusing on in-person sales of products like mortgages and investments rather than traditional teller transactions.

The expansion will start with 40 new locations this year, highlighted by the opening of a branch in Louisville, Kentucky. The bank aims to have five branches in the city by the end of the following year.

Currently, Bank of America operates in 38 states and the District of Columbia, with plans to extend its reach to 41 states by 2026. In comparison, JPMorgan operates in 48 states and has announced plans to open an additional 500 branches by 2027.

According to Aron Levine, co-head of consumer banking at Bank of America, approximately 80% of new checking accounts are opened at financial centers, with the remainder processed online.

Despite these expansion efforts, Bank of America’s total branch count has decreased to 3,800 from over 4,800 in 2014. Over the last decade, the bank has invested $5 billion to upgrade its financial centers, adding more than 100 branches in the past two years that focus on a broader range of banking, lending, and brokerage services.

Consumer banking remains the largest revenue source for Bank of America, contributing nearly 38% of the bank’s net income in the second quarter.

The recent interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve is expected to stimulate the mortgage refinancing market, which has been stagnant for the past five years. Levine indicated that this change would primarily impact refinancing, with some positive effects expected for the housing market as well. "You’d expect the purchase market to also pick up," he noted.