Bank Branches Inside Supermarkets

[BillyGr]

A couple of things:

• According to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's (OCC's) list of corporate applications, 113 US Bank branches will close, and 47 Union Bank branches will close. You can search for U.S. Bank and MUFG Union Bank branch closures here The applications were filed on 2/24, but I had to enter 1/1/2023 as a start date and 3/31/2023 as an end date for the search parameters

• US Bank's application to acquire Union Bank included the provision that no front-line employees would involuntarily lose their jobs, so if they renege on that they risk being assessed a fairy substantial fine as well as a very public announcement from the OCC , who does not take kindly instances of lying.

One question - did that provision say no involuntary job losses overall, or just none from the bank being acquired?

That could be a "loophole" (if needed) to let go of only employees of US, and not those formerly employed by Union, and still not be breaking their promise.
Based on what you said (and the general climate that most businesses are in need of extra employees), they may not need to do anything anyway, just wasn't certain how that was written

[Alpha8472]

Banks have always had problems retaining employees. Many tellers would quit or move on to other jobs in the company.

Just recently, I dealt with a branch manager at Citibank. Just a short time later when I needed to speak with her, she had quit. When banks get robbed, the employees get raises, because so many people quit after a robbery attempt.

Supermarket branches get robbed quite a bit because the robbers can slip away into the crowds. Standalone bank branches have better security: more cameras, smooth counters to capture fingerprints, high counters that you cannot easily jump over, and in some cases man traps. Bullet proof walls and doors, employees can hide in the safe, etc. Union Bank was the chain that loved bullet proof metal detector entrance vestibules with man traps.

[storewanderer]

Banks didn't use to have this amount of turnover back in the 90's but things have really changed it seems. Branch Managers don't have near the power they once did.

Tellers pay low and some larger banks push to have them part time in recent decades, and promoting often means being put into a sales-related position and those positions are pretty stressful; you either sell a lot of bank products/services or you are gone.

[rwsandiego]

A couple of things:

• According to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's (OCC's) list of corporate applications, 113 US Bank branches will close, and 47 Union Bank branches will close. You can search for U.S. Bank and MUFG Union Bank branch closures here The applications were filed on 2/24, but I had to enter 1/1/2023 as a start date and 3/31/2023 as an end date for the search parameters

• US Bank's application to acquire Union Bank included the provision that no front-line employees would involuntarily lose their jobs, so if they renege on that they risk being assessed a fairy substantial fine as well as a very public announcement from the OCC , who does not take kindly instances of lying.

One question - did that provision say no involuntary job losses overall, or just none from the bank being acquired?

That could be a "loophole" (if needed) to let go of only employees of US, and not those formerly employed by Union, and still not be breaking their promise.
Based on what you said (and the general climate that most businesses are in need of extra employees), they may not need to do anything anyway, just wasn't certain how that was written

They said no front-line employees would lose their jobs.

Regarding turnover, branches have high turnover due to low pay for tellers and often unrealistic sales goals for bankers and branch managers. Because of this, "Bank A" will attempt to poach "Bank B"'s employees, resulting in turnover.

Union Bank installed bulletproof glass and the dual door man traps several years ago after Chase and Wells had a spate of takeover robberies. The bank wanted to secure itself and its employees and that is what they did.

[RetailBanker77]

Several of the larger financial institutions like U.S. Bank, Union Bank, Wells Fargo, and Chase have acquired smaller financial institutions and made the smart business decisionn to consolidate many of their in-store branches. The main reason is due to over-saturation in the markets they serve. Woodforest National Bank, the nation's leading in-store branch provider, is still opening new locations with a total of 760+ branches nationwide - a few of them open 24 hours a day. U.S. Bank actually closed a significant number of branches over the past 5 years that were duplicative due to their acquisition strategy. This has allowed them to take their bank brand all the way to the east coast in 2021 and 2022 with a combination of in-store and in-line branches.

The Kroger brand, Walmart, H-E-B, Ahold, Albertsons, and Meijer supermarkets consistenly move mountains to attract and retain bank and credit union partners as it enables a one-stop shopping experience for their customers. Banks and credit unions with in-store branching who operate with a universal banker model (employees can perform all banking services instead of being specialized in their job) have found explosive growth and a cost-effective way to enter a new market and establish itself as a branch for the people. With typical transaction totals of these grocery stores between 10K to 25K each month, the bank branches have unfettered access to their competitors' clients on an average of 2.3 times a week which is a winning strategy for growth.

The in-store movement is gaining significant headway with credit unions taking up the mantle. In fact, there have been many acquisitions in the past 18 months where credit unions have acquired banks to expand their footprint (VyStar in Fl, LGE Community Credit Union in GA, Veridian Credit Union in MN, NuMark Credit Union in IL, Barksdale Federal Credit Union in AR, Summit Credit Union in WI, and Orion Federal Credit Union in TN). See S&P Global's complete list here: https://www.spglobal.com/marketintellig ... t-73498242

The vast majority of credit unions expanding into grocery stores have done so with the help of Financial Supermarkets, Inc.
(www.supermarketbank.com) who have specilized in in-store bank branching since 1984. Not only does FSI understand the credit union branch experience, they have very close ties to the major retailers (i.e., Walmart, Kroger, H-E-B, Meijer and more) and have the pulse on innovation within the credit union and banking industry. Their unique process helps credit unions open within six months with their patented pre-fabricated branch system which retailers love as it is comprised of green, sustainable products that minimizes impact to the retail environment. While a local contractor can provide a stick-built branch, they do not offer the expertise to navigate the in-store leasing channels and daunting politics within the retail industry or have a complete understanding of how employees and clients interact within the branch environment.

Is bank branching declining across the U.S. in size and style? Yes, however, in-store branching seems to be gaining a renaissance as it solves many challenges financial institutions face such as digital transformation, shortages due to staffing challeges, and access for their brand to be presented to thousands of potential clients weekly. One fact that remains is the bank and credit union branches are not going anywhere. If you hear differently, it is clever marketing spin from Venmo, Chime, and CashApp. It is notable to point out that Millenials and Gen-Z are slowly making a switch from the popular banking apps in turn for a transparent and real relationship with someone they trust to guard their money and assets. Where are these young customers? Why, in the grocery store of course!

[ClownLoach]

Several of the larger financial institutions like U.S. Bank, Union Bank, Wells Fargo, and Chase have acquired smaller financial institutions and made the smart business decisionn to consolidate many of their in-store branches. The main reason is due to over-saturation in the markets they serve. Woodforest National Bank, the nation's leading in-store branch provider, is still opening new locations with a total of 760+ branches nationwide - a few of them open 24 hours a day. U.S. Bank actually closed a significant number of branches over the past 5 years that were duplicative due to their acquisition strategy. This has allowed them to take their bank brand all the way to the east coast in 2021 and 2022 with a combination of in-store and in-line branches.

The Kroger brand, Walmart, H-E-B, Ahold, Albertsons, and Meijer supermarkets consistenly move mountains to attract and retain bank and credit union partners as it enables a one-stop shopping experience for their customers. Banks and credit unions with in-store branching who operate with a universal banker model (employees can perform all banking services instead of being specialized in their job) have found explosive growth and a cost-effective way to enter a new market and establish itself as a branch for the people. With typical transaction totals of these grocery stores between 10K to 25K each month, the bank branches have unfettered access to their competitors' clients on an average of 2.3 times a week which is a winning strategy for growth.

The in-store movement is gaining significant headway with credit unions taking up the mantle. In fact, there have been many acquisitions in the past 18 months where credit unions have acquired banks to expand their footprint (VyStar in Fl, LGE Community Credit Union in GA, Veridian Credit Union in MN, NuMark Credit Union in IL, Barksdale Federal Credit Union in AR, Summit Credit Union in WI, and Orion Federal Credit Union in TN). See S&P Global's complete list here: https://www.spglobal.com/marketintellig ... t-73498242

The vast majority of credit unions expanding into grocery stores have done so with the help of Financial Supermarkets, Inc.
(www.supermarketbank.com) who have specilized in in-store bank branching since 1984. Not only does FSI understand the credit union branch experience, they have very close ties to the major retailers (i.e., Walmart, Kroger, H-E-B, Meijer and more) and have the pulse on innovation within the credit union and banking industry. Their unique process helps credit unions open within six months with their patented pre-fabricated branch system which retailers love as it is comprised of green, sustainable products that minimizes impact to the retail environment. While a local contractor can provide a stick-built branch, they do not offer the expertise to navigate the in-store leasing channels and daunting politics within the retail industry or have a complete understanding of how employees and clients interact within the branch environment.

Is bank branching declining across the U.S. in size and style? Yes, however, in-store branching seems to be gaining a renaissance as it solves many challenges financial institutions face such as digital transformation, shortages due to staffing challeges, and access for their brand to be presented to thousands of potential clients weekly. One fact that remains is the bank and credit union branches are not going anywhere. If you hear differently, it is clever marketing spin from Venmo, Chime, and CashApp. It is notable to point out that Millenials and Gen-Z are slowly making a switch from the popular banking apps in turn for a transparent and real relationship with someone they trust to guard their money and assets. Where are these young customers? Why, in the grocery store of course!

Generative AI post?


Anyway, banks seem to be on the way out in smaller format grocery stores which are dominant in SoCal. As leases by the big banks end, the grocery stores are happy to push them out because they need the space at the front end for online order pickup storage. I have seen busy Wells Fargo, BofA, and US Bank/Union Bank branches closed to make room for storage. At my local Ralphs, US Bank was booted even though they wanted to stay and their space became order storage. Sometimes they would rather make a small seasonal display with the space versus keep a bank, which indicates the grocery store chains now understand that these in-store banks do absolutely nothing to help them grow their sales otherwise they would have kept them or re leased the space (there are a few growing banks, and I have seen recent openings that reuse a dead Wells Fargo or other space but they are in stores that already have dedicated pickup storage space elsewhere).

[RetailBanker77]

Read much?

The transaction totals of the supermarket, not the bank branch, range between 10K and 25K per week. This simply shows the number of potential customers that are in the store weekly and the draw for financial insitutions to place a branch in a grocery store environment. Keep in mind that there are repeat store visitors in that number as people visit the grocery store 2.3 times weekly. The potential for growth is there as long as the grocery store branch is willing to be proactive in their efforts.

And, no, the post was not written by AI. Just a fan of my personal grocery store branch which is a very convenient placement for me. Thanks for reading.

[Romr123]

This is a really interesting blog about retail banking and how it's changing. Interesting deep-dives into specific lines of business. The topics are things which we may do every day but never think about what's behind.

https://www.bitsaboutmoney.com/

[veteran+]

Read much?

The transaction totals of the supermarket, not the bank branch, range between 10K and 25K per week. This simply shows the number of potential customers that are in the store weekly and the draw for financial insitutions to place a branch in a grocery store environment. Keep in mind that there are repeat store visitors in that number as people visit the grocery store 2.3 times weekly. The potential for growth is there as long as the grocery store branch is willing to be proactive in their efforts.

And, no, the post was not written by AI. Just a fan of my personal grocery store branch which is a very convenient placement for me. Thanks for reading.

You may be on to something but I do not see this happening in Southern California (Palms Springs, San Diego, Los Angeles and areas around).

[Alpha8472]

In Northern California, all of the Safeway and Save Mart or Lucky stores that I have visited have lost their bank branches in the past few years. It was around 2020 when most of the remaining branches closed.

A small number of supermarkets still have bank ATMS, but not all of them.

I do see full sized bank branches opening up in shopping centers near supermarkets. Chase has been building new bank buildings in my area that replaced several spread out branches. There are fewer branches now, but many of them are recently built ones that are really nice looking. The banks want to attract people to visit as they can make money via credit card openings or loans.

Citibank spent a ton of money on a replacement branch near me with art on the walls based on the local street map. It is sort of like what McDonald's was doing with local street maps on the walls.