Banks have been closing thousands of branches all over the country in the past few years. But in Manhattan, they are doubling down on having a physical presence.
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Two of New York City’s biggest retail leases during the third quarter were for Bank of America and Citibank branches in Union Square and on the Upper West Side, according to JLL. Banks are now among the tenant types jockeying for space in a white-hot retail market, responding to demand from New Yorkers who are seeking out in-person financial services.
“There was a moment three years ago where there were many people questioning the need for retail bank branch services at all, in New York City and elsewhere,” said Matt Ogle, executive managing director of retail at JLL’s NYC office. “It's very encouraging.”
Bank of America signed for 16K SF at 19 Union Square W. last quarter, while Citibank took 14K SF at 170 W. 72nd St., according to a JLL report. The brokerage also named OceanFirst Bank’s 4K SF at 36 Union Square E. as one of the largest in the Union Square-Flatiron submarket.
That momentum isn’t slowing this quarter, Ogle told Bisnow in mid-October.
“Me and the team are in the middle of five or six retail bank branch transactions,” he said. “It’s abnormally high.”
As many as 6,000 bank branches shuttered nationwide between 2019 and the end of 2025 as consumers largely switched to digital services, The Wall Street Journal reported. Around 1,354 of those closures took place in 2024 alone.
But banks are now bucking that trend in NYC, brokers told Bisnow, locking down space early so that they don't lose it amid fierce competition in Manhattan’s real estate market. Of the nine prime retail corridors tracked by JLL, availabilities hit a record-low 157 spaces in Q3, according to the report.
The majority of bank leasing is renewals and strategic relocations as opposed to expansions, JLL senior research analyst Ashton Saber said, with the increased activity coming from tenants that already have retail space in Manhattan.
“We're seeing that banks who have a lease coming up are very proactively renewing those leases, likely with an understanding of how tight the market is right now in terms of availabilities,” she said.
Part of the reason banks are signing for space in NYC is to ensure brand awareness, just like retailers establishing brick-and-mortar stores in the city in a way that complements their online offerings, Capricorn Retail Advisors founder and Managing Principal Jason Richter said.
“Retail still serves as a great marketing component,” he said. “Having that presence is important, especially when people are giving you their money.”
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The locations where banks are taking space also offer clues as to who they are targeting, with many looking in submarkets where high net worth individuals reside or spend time, Ogle said. Banks that are seeking to serve high net worth New Yorkers might look for Midtown locations to try and capture demand from office workers, he said. In other cases, they are looking for space in specific neighborhoods or next to grocery stores to target residential groups.
Wells Fargo is also among the banks unveiling new locations. The bank opened a branch at Broadway and 109th Street, right at the heavily residential northern tip of the Upper West Side.
Its decision was based on demand for personalized support and financial guidance to build on digital banking offerings, with the location including an expanded consultation space, according to a social media post from Wells Fargo commemorating the opening.
“The Broadway and 109th branch reflects Wells Fargo’s continued investment in New York,” Daniel Hoke, a business growth strategy executive, said at the branch’s mid-October grand opening, adding that the bank designed the space to be a place where “guidance is shared.”
The new branch is part of the bank’s commitment to invest in its New York network based on customer demand and the needs of the communities Wells Fargo serves, the bank’s head of branch channel management, Ethan Wingfield, told Bisnow in a statement.
“Customers are increasingly using mobile and online channels, but that doesn’t mean they want a digital-only banking experience,” he said. “We're seeing customers increasingly visit our branches for financial advice and guidance.”
The new Wells Fargo branch is also emblematic of another reversal in banks’ approach to hunting for space. Some of Ogle’s clients moved away from corner spaces a few years ago, saying that they just needed a good location and quality co-tenants such as grocery stores.
“I've seen banks make those decisions and then regret making those decisions and fall back into, ‘Hey, we have really got to have a corner,’” he said.
The big picture, Ogle said, is that bank leasing in NYC also speaks to the health of the retail sector writ large.
The rise of e-commerce kicked off a wave of retailers rightsizing their brick-and-mortar footprints, with the pandemic amplifying that trend. But coming out of the pandemic, consumer spending surged and people went back to physical stores to experience the products they were buying and the brands they were buying from, Ogle said.
That resulted in soaring demand for retail space in Manhattan even after the best-in-class storefronts had been gobbled up.
“Retail banking is no different, right? They’re selling financial services,” Ogle said. “People can only do so much on their phone. They need that human touch.”
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