Multiple Major Banks to Close Operations in Parts of Montana

The economy is a touchy topic these days. With prices of everything skyrocketing, yet wages stay the same, people are feeling the pinch. The uneasy feeling that a financial collapse could occur is starting to spread among people all over the US.

Get our free mobile app

Banks are REALLY starting to feel the squeeze. People simply have less money than they did a few years ago. Less money means less surplus to deposit in the bank. This has some banks on their heels.

Just last year, Bank of America and Chase Bank closed dozens of bank branches around the country. Montana has Chase and Bank of America branches across the state. So far, none of them have been listed as upcoming closures.

Not only are Chase and BOA struggling, but Wells Fargo is beginning to pull out of some locations across Montana as well. Missoula lost a Wells Fargo Branch in 2023. A Wells Fargo branch in Helena is slated to close its doors this July.

Now, yet another bank has announced branch closures across the country. US Bank is closing 23 branches in 2024. Two of those locations listed are right here in Montana.

• 4 Adams Avenue East, Chester

• 201 Main Street, Shelby

According to Money Wise, there is a reason why banks are closing branches.

The number of federally insured commercial banks in the U.S. has declined steadily since peaking in 1984. This decline can be partially attributed to bank mergers spurred by changes to regulations in the 1980s and 1990s, and then to bank failures that occurred after the 2007-2009 financial crisis. During this time, technology emerged that would change banking forever, from digital banking in the late ’90s to mobile banking after the arrival of the smartphone in 2007.

Montana is so wide open and our population is spread out across the state. Could we see more banks close branches? Simply due to customers banking mostly online? Or because they are located in small towns with small populations?