Banks Branch

Not long ago, banks were encouraging customer to do their banking electronically. According to a recent article in Business Week, for about seven years Bank One discouraged its customers from using their tellers by charging a $3 fee each time they used a bank teller. Bank One also paid $150 million to acquire the Internet bank, WingspanBank.com.

But now, bank executives are making a U-turn. They are embracing branch banks. For example, the Bank of America has recently opened an office in Chicago on tony LaSalle Street. Banks have discovered that 80 percent of new customers open their checking and savings accounts at bank branches. Estimates of new branches to be opened in the next few years are shown below:

2000 - 120
2001 - 158
2002 - 242
2003 - 465
2004 - 550