PNC Bank, the sixth largest U.S. bank, plans to add 35 branches in North Carolina over the next five years, with 10 going to the Raleigh area and 25 in the Charlotte market. The move is part of an overall $1.5 billion investment by PNC to add 200 branches in 12 U.S. cities.
While digital banking is accelerating, branches still play a key role to attract and retain customers, PNC Regional President Jim Hansen says. “Clients want to see and feel their bank and go to our branches.”
PNC’s move comes as JPMorgan Chase, the largest U.S. bank, has added about 40 offices in the Charlotte, Triad and Triangle markets in recent years, with plans for many more. While the New York giant has built its own network, Pittsburgh-based PNC entered the state in 2011 through the $3.5 billion purchase of Royal Bank of Canada’s U.S. operations. At the time, RBC was heavily weighted to eastern North Carolina. But PNC has focused on the state’s major metropolitan areas. It now has about 100 branches in North Carolina, with 25 in the Triangle and 10 in the Charlotte region.
In February, PNC announced a $1 billion investment that would see it expand by 100 new locations in Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio in Texas, along with Denver and Miami, along with 1,200 branch renovations. The additional $500 million investment doubles the number of new branches and brings to 1,400 the number of branch renovations. PNC also will add branches in Atlanta, Orlando, Tampa and Phoenix.
North Carolina has added more than 1.3 million people since PNC arrived, Hansen notes. It has benefited from that growth and wants to continue investing in the state, he adds.
U.S. banks added a net 94 branches in 2023, the first increase since 2012. In September, Charlotte-based Bank of America said it would open 165 new branches by December 2026, including eight in North Carolina. ■