Bank of America to Open Over 150 Financial Centers by 2027, Stock Up

Group 1: Expansion Plans - Bank of America (BAC) plans to open over 150 new financial centers across 60 markets by the end of 2027, with 40 centers in 2025 and 70 in 2026, reflecting an aggressive expansion strategy [1][2] - Since 2016, BAC has invested more than $5 billion in its financial centers network, adding 471 centers in existing markets and renovating over 3,000 centers last year [3] Group 2: Customer Engagement and Market Adaptation - BAC serves nearly 250 million individuals in over 200 markets, covering approximately 82% of the U.S. population, and is adapting to evolving consumer behavior by increasing its physical footprint [2] - There has been a notable increase in requests for in-person advisory services, with nearly 10 million appointments scheduled in 2024, despite 90% of customer interactions occurring online [4] Group 3: Industry Context - The expansion strategy of BAC aligns with a broader industry trend of optimizing networks to deepen customer relationships and explore new business opportunities [5] - Other banks, such as PNC and JPMorgan, are also increasing their branch investments and expanding their financial center networks, indicating a collective movement within the banking industry [11][12] Group 4: Stock Performance - Shares of Bank of America have risen 16.9% in the past year, compared to the industry's growth of 29.5% [7]