Community banks and credit unions are outperforming the banking industry as customers push back against consolidation

By Imani Moise, Wall Street Journal – March 5, 2024

Jana Dalton used the same bank for 40 years, depositing checks and withdrawing cash from the account she first opened at age 16. Now, she’s switching banks.

PNC Financial Services Group the sixth largest U.S. lender, bought her hometown bank. Two years ago, it closed Dalton’s original branch and has since shut down three nearby locations. Her newest local branch, 9 miles away, sometimes turns her away when she doesn’t sign up for an appointment online.

“There’s too many bells and whistles and we just need to back up and go back to customer service,” said the golf-course operator in Miamisburg, Ohio. Her new local bank, Farmers and Merchants Bank has $291 million in assets compared with PNC’s $562 billion.

Some bank customers are going small, pushing back against a wave of consolidation that has concentrated deposits and loans in a handful of the largest banks. Many have found that making a switch not only gets them more face time with bankers, but they are also earning more and paying less.