https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2022/12/20/santander-closing-13-branches-in-pa-and-n-j.html
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Santander Bank has filed to close 13 branches in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, including five in the immediate Philadelphia region and five more on the outskirts.
According to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Boston-based subsidiary of Spain’s Santander Group (NYSE: SAN) has filed to close the following locations:
5022-24 City Ave. in the Wynnefield section of Philadelphia;
1501 E. Erie Ave. in North Philadelphia;
6500-06 Woodland Ave. in Southwest Philadelphia;
144 Lancaster Ave. in Devon;
100 Berlin Road in Clementon, New Jersey.
Santander is also closing sites in Princeton, Robbinsville and Hamilton Township in Mercer County, New Jersey, plus branches in Quarryville and Lititz in Lancaster County, and individual locations in Cumberland, York and Schuylkill counties.
“Like many industries, our customers’ preferences and behaviors have changed, with more customers choosing to bank with us online," a Santander spokeswoman said in a statement. "Therefore, we are reimagining the customer and employee experience by simplifying our processes, refining our branch footprint, and increasing our investment in digital capabilities to align with the evolving needs of our customers.”
Santander, which remains the seventh largest deposit taker in the region, has seen its local branch count fall from 71 to 57 between 2020 and 2022, according to annual deposit data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. recorded on June 30. Despite that, its total deposits increased from $6.9 billion to $7.8 billion.
Santander had 80 local branches when it acquired predecessor Sovereign Bank in October 2008 for $1.9 billion.
Its retail footprint extends largely over eight states — the tri-state area, plus New York and four states in New England. It also opened a branch in Florida in October 2020. That same fall, the bank also unveiled a new online deposit platform meant to attract customers outside of its East Coast footprint.
Santander has closed four branches across its eight-state footprint this year, compared to 100 last year — which included over 20 in Pennsylvania. Since the FDIC released its annual deposit data on June 30, 2020, Santander has closed 107 of its 581 branches, or roughly 18%, and it has only opened four. The number of branches shuttering will continue to grow with the latest batch of announced closings.
Santander opened a branch at 2077 Ridge Ave. in the Brewerytown section of Philadelphia earlier this month, giving it 53 branches in the region. It was surpassed in market share by WSFS after the Wilmington-based bank’s parent company acquired Bryn Mawr Bank Corp.
Virtually every bank is reevaluating retail branch networks after the Covid-19 pandemic forced even some of the more technology-averse customers to adapt to online and mobile banking. Rivals such as Wells Fargo Bank, TD Bank, PNC Bank and Citizens Bank have each shuttered dozens of branches since the pandemic began.
Santander has $96 billion in assets. It used to be headquartered in Wyomissing when it was Sovereign, but the U.S. headquarters relocated to Boston after it was acquired by Spain's Banco Santander. The bank took on the Santander moniker in 2013.