Closing Bank Branch In Des Moines Follows Bank Of America Trend For Past Two Years

DES MOINES, IA -- Bank of America will close its second Des Moines branch office in less than 18 months when it shutters the south-side bank at 501 E. Army Post Road. It closed a downtown skywalk level branch in 2016 and will close the south Des Moines branch Nov. 14, The Des Moines Register reported Thursday.

Bank of America spokeswoman Diane Wagner told the Register the bank is consolidating locations. She noted the trend toward online banking and the use of mobile devices for banking.

In 2015 CNN reported that Bank of America was one of the most aggressive big banks in the nation for scaling back its operations and that hundreds of branches nationwide had disappeared.

The story said in 2013 there were 5,328 U.S. branches at Bank of America, but that had declined by 10 percent to 4,789 branches by 2015. The company also trimmed its workforce by 16 percent in the same time period, leaving just over 257,000 employees nationwide.

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Additionally, Bank of America-branded ATM's were on the decline, with 2 percent fewer in the two-year period, leaving nearly 16,000, according to CNN.

Bank of America is the nation's second largest bank (behind JPMorgan Chase & Co.) and also held that rank before its bank closings and workforce reduction, according to BankRate.com.

Bank of America will continue operating branches at 3422 Ingersoll Ave. in Des Moines, 3400 Westown Parkway in West Des Moines, and 8525 Meredith Drive in Urbandale, the Register reported.

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