National Bank Closes Dozens of Branches Amid Shift to Online Banking and Economic Changes

Major national bank, Flagstar Financial, is closing dozens of branches due to changes in customer behavior driven by the pandemic. Customers shifted towards online banking and away from physical branches, prompting banks to rethink their locations and adopt self-service kiosks and other in-branch technology. Additionally, the Federal Reserve's hawkish interest rate policy has impacted the value of assets held on bank balance sheets, further complicating matters for the banking industry.