Reports of the Death of the Branch are Greatly Exaggerated
By E.J. Kritz, Chief Experience Officer at DBSI
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Does Brett King wear black because he hosts his own daily funeral for the retail bank branch?
If he’s at the funeral, I’m throwing birthday parties. Come party with me.
Look, I’ve never met Mr. King although I sincerely look forward to the opportunity. In fact, after reading King’s latest book, Branch Tomorrow, even I must admit that his outlook on the complete death and destruction of the branch isn’t quite as doom and gloom as some of his LinkedIn posts might have you believe.
See also: The Financial Brand’s recent conversation with King.
Nontheless, consider this to be my love letter to all of those fighting for the survival of the humble institution known as the bank branch.
As I sat to write, I received a phone call from my DBSI colleague and former Synovus exec, Carla Trombly. She was on her way to none other than a bank branch.
“There’s something I need to do that can’t be done online. If Bank of America and Amex haven’t figured out how to do this without a branch, nobody has,” Carla said.
This far-too-common example illustrates that the branch of the future (I hate that phrase) needs to be more than just an “advice hub.” It must be a “problem resolution center” armed with digital advocates and empathy wizards prepared to offer one-stop shop of friction reduction in the overall customer experience.
“EJ Kritz I think you have a fundamental misunderstanding of what is happening globally in banking,” said King in a recent exchange with me on LinkedIn.
Learn more from EJ Kritz at
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The word “global” is key. Mine is a U.S.-based argument. I acknowledge that focusing my argument on just one country may be short-sighted. That said, I believe there is a pronounced difference in the purpose (and chances for survival) of branches throughout this country, justifying an America-specific discussion.
In fact, if you read Branch Tomorrow, you will gain an understanding of how drastically different the U.S. is from the balance of the global banking environment.
Brett notes on LinkedIn, “Of the top 50 fastest growing financial institutions in the world, NONE of them have branches.” He referenced banks like Revolut and N26, both of whom spent years reporting financial losses despite huge user growth. According to a 2025 study by TABinsights, only 61% of the top 100 digital banks globally reported full-year profitability. Meanwhile according to FDIC filings, just over 93% of U.S. banks were profitable in 2024.
Read an excerpt from Brett King’s Branch Tomorrow: Why Branches Will Never Be the Center of Banking Again
Follow the money
Call me crazy, but I follow the money, not users.
If you want to take a global view, have at it. Europe, Asia, Australia: They’re different places. Different priorities. Heck, only about 10% of the digital banks in the world are even based in North America, which tells you something. I am focused on the future of branching in America where virtually ALL the top U.S. banks have branches. Moreover, Chase, PNC, and countless community banks and credit unions are doubling down on branching.
It’s been well-reported how many branches the big dogs plan to add over the coming years. Less discussed is similar growth of community bank and credit union footprints. Many if not most of my clients from that space plan to add one or two branches a year for the foreseeable future.
They can’t possibly all be misguided. Maybe the 9% YoY revenue growth at Chase is a mirage.
But I know this for sure:
I believe in the future of branches.
Jim Marous, host of the popular Banking Transformed Podcast and co-publisher of The Financial Brand, took on the critical topic of uncertainty in the future of U.S. branches in his chapter of Branch Tomorrow. Marous dives into both the social and behavioral components of the push-pull debate on the future of branching.
He too cites Chase as the example of an institution bucking the trend against branching, highlighting their expansion to 25 new states while calling out their 14% compound annual growth rate in deposits per branch during the same period.
While smaller institutions can only dream of growing their footprints at such an rate, I appreciate Marous for calling out the branches’ importance to growth of small business within communities, as well as its core function as a community advocate. Again, something unique to the U.S.
This feeling is held by many if not most executives in financial services in the U.S.
“We have heard for the last 20 years that brick-and-mortar branches will become extinct, yet here we are, branches continue to be built and opened nationwide,” said Dave Upham, Chief Operating Officer at Vegas-based Clark County Credit Union.
King counters, “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but there is no evolution that will save the branch at this point. Yes, it will still take 20 years or so to see the complete dismantling of most branch networks except for some exceptional examples, but the nails are in the coffin.”
They used to say that about retail too
Back in July 20, 1998, “Kiss Your Mall Goodbye” was splashed across the cover of Time Magazine with a full-length cover story predicting the demise of retail. All these many years later, it has yet to happen. Has retail suffered? Of course it has. Yet, dozens of studies and Bloomberg, report Gen-Z’s exceptionally high interest in brick & mortar shopping. Many U.S.-based studies on banking suggest the same.
The mall didn’t die; it evolved. The building might have moved, but the idea of people gathering in a mass-shopping environment is alive. What we used to call a mall we now call “outlets” or “mixed-use retail.” And consider the digitally native brands who have successfully opened brick-and-mortar retail stores: Warby Parker, Allbirds, Untuckit, Everlane, Fabletics, Casper… Is a Chime branch next? The horror of such a suggestion.
According to recent research from Rivel, 70% of U.S. consumers still view a nearby branch as necessary. Before generational assumptions get made, a modest spread of 69% (Gen-Z) and 75% (Boomers) represents the minimal generational divide.
Rivel’s research goes on to suggest a definitive connection between branch count, brand awareness, and banking consideration while also reporting that 59% of American’s view a financial institution with modern and updated branches as seeming more trustworthy.
As Clark County’s Upham says, “I don’t believe the need for branches to ever go away. However, their purpose may change over time.”
As Marous writes in Branch Tomorrow, “The future of bank branches in the digital age is one of transformation and reinvention… They will need to evolve and adapt to the changing needs and preferences of customers, by becoming more focused, specialized, and integrated with digital channels.”
In a recent conversation, Ron Shevlin of Cornerstone Advisors shared, “Branches aren’t ‘dead.’ If a bank or credit union has $100 to spend, I can’t see how you want to spend more than $5 of that $100 on anything branch-related. Building out your digital capabilities are far more important than improving your branch capabilities.”
My take: The future of branching is a marriage of points made by both Marous and Shevlin. To Shevlin I would say, any investment made in the digital side of the bank can and should be transferrable to the branch side, if given the right design and staffing model. (A really big “if.”)
All this begs the question:
Does the modern existence of the bank branch require significant foot traffic? If you believe size matters, the answer may be no.
Over the past several months I’ve stood on stage and have had the honor of speaking to thousands of bankers across America. By the end of this recent run, something hit me:
A huge reason why I believe so strongly in the future of branching in America is because of the people I interact with on a day-to-day basis. Passionate protectors of the advisory experience along with the important concept of having a banker. I’ve begun finishing these talks by saying that those who believe in the demise of the bank branch have obviously never been in a room with that audience. The crowd goes wild each time.
It’s not a line. As passionate protectors of the retail banking experience, it’s our truth and I will continue to work tirelessly on behalf of banks and credit unions who believe in the importance of retail banking within our communities.
Yes, people will stop going to branches for transactions. They already are. But evolution of purpose does not signify death.
As Marous writes, “Declarations of the branch’s demise confuse the need for adaption with preparing for their extinction.”
How do we convert our physical experience from being less transactional to being more advisory?
Some take it a step further by investigating micro-branching, hub & spoke models, and any number of variations to branch choreography which leave valued employees to engage in a shift of behavior, spending time on value-driven moments of truth vs the age-old transactional teller responsibilities.
Cool. You turned your teller into a universal banker. Guess what? You only took the mission halfway home.
Put a universal banker behind a teller line, what are they in the mind of your customer??
A Teller.
Put an Apple store employee at a cash register, what are they?
A Cashier.
Put an Apple store employee behind a butcher block table, what are they?
A Genius.
Be a part of the conversation by joining the over 55,000 people globally who follow Brett King and consider buying his new book, Branch Tomorrow. If you’d like to engage with me on the topic of branching, please throw me a LinkedIn connection and consider sending me a personal message.
More importantly, if you believe in branching, continue to speak out and advocate for evolution over death.
