![]() It is unclear, however, if Wal-Mart actually poses a true threat to banks. The giant retailer said in September that it will begin offering basic checking accounts, along with the other financial services it already provides. ![]() Other concerns nevertheless persist about the future of in-store branches, not the least of which is Wal-Mart Stores. It is adding an additional office to floor plans for new branches, to handle the demand for opening new accounts for checking, as well as investments, home equity lines and other loans, she said. The floor plans for Huntington's existing supermarket branches include only one separate office space. Huntington adds new households from its in-store branches, and also makes loans and sells fee income-based products from them, Navarro said. "Capital is closely scrutinized at banks and you can open three in-store branches for the same cost as one traditional branch," Houchins said. Supermarket branches also give a bank a way to grow faster at a lower cost, said Carter Houchins, senior vice president at NCBS, which advises banks on supermarket branches "In-store branches produce a disproportionate amount of new household growth," Martin said. Many banks see supermarket branches as the best way to reel in new customers, he said. It is likely that another bank will pounce on BOK's in-store branch leases, Martin said. "But they're also easier and less expensive to get out of." ![]() "An in-store branch is far less expensive and easier to get into," said Martin, who also regularly writes BankThink columns for American Banker. One reason may be that banks, in their never-ending quest to cut expenses, see in-store branches as an easy way to achieve cost savings, by simply paying the fee to terminate a lease early, said Dave Martin, executive vice president and chief development officer at Financial Supermarkets, which consults with banks on opening in-store branches. Nationwide, the number of in-store branches has steadily dropped since 2009, falling from 6,155 to 5,438 at March 24, according to SNL Financial. The $19 billion-asset TCF Financial in Minneapolis and the $10 billion-asset Old National Bancorp in Evansville, Ind., have also recently closed supermarket branches. "Our decision really comes down to the changing economics of not only servicing, but also the value of the deposits," Piper said.īOK is not alone in discarding the in-store format. The average level of outstanding loans at in-store branches is about $4.5 million, compared with about $15 million for traditional branches, Piper said. The average per-branch deposit level at 79 BOK branches in Oklahoma is about $43 million.įor a branch to be profitable either freestanding or located inside a retailer it should hold between $25 million and $35 million in deposits, according to Ken Thomas, a Miami banking consultant.Īnother drawback for BOK is that fewer loans have been made at its supermarket branches. BOK's supermarket branches average about $13.5 million in deposits per branch. ![]() "Now, that trip to the bank every week just isn't needed anymore."īOK's supermarket branches, which are largely located inside regional chains like Buy For Less and Reasor's Foods, consistently measure smaller than traditional branch counterparts. "We got into that space to provide added convenience of taking care of that trip to the bank and the trip to the grocery store that you had to make every week," Piper said. Consumers' habits have changed since 1993, when BOK opened its first in-store branches, Piper said. Growth in its new households served is in the mid-30% range per year at in-store branches, versus 17% at traditional branches, said Mary Navarro, senior executive vice president and director of retail and business banking.īOK clearly is not seeing the same customer response. The $64 billion-asset Huntington, in Columbus, is so pleased with the performance of its in-store branches that it plans to open 50 new locations by the end of next year, inside the supermarket chains Giant Eagle and Meijer. "Our Bank Marts are quite busy," Borton said. At the $134 billion-asset Fifth Third, in-store branches boast transaction volume that's 6% higher on average than traditional branches, said Chad Borton, executive vice president and head of Fifth Third's consumer bank.įifth Third's most-popular supermarket branches, which the company calls Bank Marts, are located at Kroger stores in its home market of Cincinnati. "Conversations with clients have become longer and the in-store channel is just not conducive to that."ĭo not tell any of this to the Ohio banks Fifth Third Bancorp and Huntington Bancshares. ![]()
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