Wells Fargo shutters TWELVE branches in a week while Bank of America axes five amid 'banking bloodbath' - is YOUR local on the chopping block?

American banks filed to close 30 branches last week leaving yet more households without access to basic financial services.

Wells Fargo shuttered twelve locations while Bank of America axed five, according to a weekly bulletin published by regulator the Office of Comtroller of the Currency. 

Meanwhile Citizens Bank shut down four branches between December 3 and 9. Chase, Webster, Key Bank, Bank First and First National Bank of Waverly also announced a raft of closures. 

The figures come amidst a widespread 'banking bloodbath' which saw firms ax more than 1,000 branches in the first seven months of the year.

Of the latest round of Wells Fargo closures, two were based in Florida, two in New Jersey and two in Texas. Others to be affected were located in California, DC, Georgia, Iowa, Virginia and Washington.

Meanwhile four Bank of America branches being axed were located in Florida while another was based in California. The company had 5,400 branches in 2013 and around 3,800 this year, according to BankRegData.

The closures were off-set slightly by the fact banks applied to open seven new branches. Wells Fargo, for example, is set to open a new location in Huntington Station, New York.

In the first half the year - between January 1 and July 31 - a total of 1,144 national and regional banks were closed, according to data from S&P.

And the picture varies widely across the country. While California had the most closures in absolute terms, New Jersey suffered the greatest losses per capita with a total of 83. 

The dwindling number of outlets means residents have to travel further to get to their nearest bank - which often hits vulnerable and elderly customers the hardest.

According to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a third of the locations that closed between 2017 and 2021 occurred in areas that were predominately lower-income and majority-minority.

Accelerating closures run a risk of communities becoming so-called 'banking deserts' - when they are without access to a bank or credit union within 10 miles - leaving residents increasingly vulnerable to falling prey to high-fee lending options such as payday loans.

Banks are increasingly turning towards digital services - a development which was sped up hugely by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nerves around transmitting the virus deterred households from exchanging cash and encouraged them to use digital payment apps such as Venmo and Block Inc.'s Cash App.

A study by the Federal Reserve showed a 12.4 percent jump in digital transactions in the first quarter of 2020 alone.

But some customers may be reluctant to use internet banking, or have limited access to these services, making them more reliant on physical outlets.

An exclusive poll by DailyMail.com earlier this year revealed 51 percent of consumers said they were very or somewhat concerned about the declining number of bank branches.

DailyMail.com reached out to both Bank of America and Wells Fargo for comment. 

Have bank branch closures been affecting you, or are you able to manage your financial affairs online? Write us an email at money@dailymail.com.