Bank of America Closing Branches

Bank of America Corp. (Charlotte, N.C.) says it will close some retail branches this year and try to boost revenue from remaining locations by offering investment advice by videoconference, a company manager said, reports Bloomberg.

Walter Elcock, the executive responsible for the firm’s branches, says the company will be “more conservative” about opening new ones. It has not announced how many locations will close. “We’ve reduced the opening number, and the closure number has been fairly constant, so over time I think the number will keep going down,” Elcock said. “It’s not only because of economic changes; there will be leases that come up on buildings that just aren’t worth it anymore and we would leave a site.”

Bank of America operated 5856 branches at the end of 2010, a 2.6 percent drop from the year earlier.