Bank Branch Managers

The practice of opening satellite branches of banks was popularized in the early 20th century by Amadeo Giannini, the founder of Bank of Italy (which eventually became Bank of America, one of the largest banks in the world). Despite skepticism by the larger banking community, Giannini opened his first out-of-town branch in San Jose in 1913. In less than 10 years, Bank of Italy had 24 branches throughout California and was the state’s fourth-largest bank. Today, there are nearly 70,000 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)–insured commercial bank branches in the United States, according to Statista.com. The number of bank branches steadily declined from 2008 (when there were 82,965 bank branches) to 2021, but since 2022 the number of branches has increased slightly. Despite industry consolidation, branch managers play an integral role in the operation of bank branches. In an increasingly digital world, they and their employees provide a human touch that many banking customers still desire.