🔒BofA strengthens CT deposit market share lead, as Chase Bank’s regional expansion leads to significant growth

Bank of America has widened its deposit market share lead in Connecticut, even as it has shrunk its branch footprint over the past year.

Bank of America recorded $44.7 billion in Connecticut deposits at the end of June, accounting for nearly 25% of the overall market, according to recently released data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. A year earlier, BofA owned 24.6% of deposits in the state.

Bank of America grew its deposit base nearly 2% from June 2021 to June 2022, even as it closed a net 14 branches over that time period. It now has 90 branches in Connecticut, FDIC data shows.

Overall, Connecticut deposit growth slowed significantly over the past year, after banks experienced a huge spike in customers’ savings amid the pandemic.

At the end of June, the 54 federally-insured banks operating in Connecticut held $179.1 billion in local deposits, up less than 1% from the year-ago period. In June 2020, amid the height of the pandemic, banks reported $163.1 billion in Connecticut deposits, up 16.7% from the previous year, FDIC data shows.

The overall deposit growth comes amid a steady branch consolidation trend. From June 2021 to June 2022, Connecticut banks shed a net 48 branches, FDIC data shows. There are now 1,011 bank branches in Connecticut.

Chase Bank grows

Although Bank of America held onto its market share lead, there was a shake-up in the top 10 rankings.

Stamford-based Webster Bank, which in February closed on its purchase of New York-based Sterling National Bank, took over the No. 2 spot in deposit market share. With $25.9 billion in Connecticut deposits, it owns 14.5% of the market.

M&T Bank, which acquired Bridgeport-based People’s United Bank in April, reported $24.8 billion in deposits at the end of June, making it the third-largest bank in the state. However, that total was down significantly from the $28.7 billion in deposits People’s United Bank reported in June 2021.

That means People’s United/M&T, which faced customer criticisms amid technology challenges that plagued their account conversion process, shed more than $3.9 billion in deposits between June 2021 and June 2022.

One of the biggest deposit gainers was JPMorgan Chase, which has actually been growing its Connecticut branch network, while many other money-center lenders shrink their brick-and-mortar footprints.

Chase Bank added $1.4 billion in deposits from June 2021 to June 2022, a 16% increase. It’s the fourth-largest bank in Connecticut, owning 5.7% of all deposits, FDIC data shows.

By the end of this year, Chase Bank will have added four new Connecticut branches in 2022 — in Branford, Glastonbury, Newington and Cheshire, according to William Olivera, executive director, market director of banking in Greater Hartford.

There are five new Connecticut branches planned in 2023 and beyond, Olivera said, as Chase Bank sees growth opportunities in Hartford and New Haven counties.

Chase has had a longtime presence in Connecticut, historically concentrated in Fairfield County. It entered Greater Hartford in 2019 as part of a national push to expand in new markets and add 400 U.S. branches between 2018 and 2022.

“We had a really strong existing footprint in Fairfield County, but over the last few years we started to build and extend our network toward the center of the state and even further north and southeast into Boston and Rhode Island,” said Cynthia Frederick, JPMorgan Chase’s managing director and regional manager of the New York north and Connecticut markets.

Frederick said the bank’s branch expansion has been a key driver of deposit growth and that customers still want access to a brick-and-mortar establishment where they can get service.

As Chase Bank grows its retail footprint it is also rethinking how branches are used. They’ve evolved from simply offering transactional services to becoming more of an advice center. It’s a shift many banks are making.

“That runs the spectrum from offering financial health and wellness advice to helping people meet their long-term financial goals,” Olivera said.

Other gainers

Other significant deposit market share gainers were NBT Bank, Westfield Bank and PeoplesBank — all out-of-state community lenders that have moved into Connecticut in recent years to take advantage of a consolidation trend that wiped out some smaller, well-known competitors.

New York-based NBT Bank saw its deposit base increase 435.6% from June 2021 to June 2022, to $36.9 million; Massachusetts-based Westfield Bank reported $174.2 million in deposits, up 34.2% from a year earlier; Massachusetts’ PeoplesBank reported a 21% increase in deposits to $402 million, FDIC data shows.

Citibank, Santander, Citizens Bank and Berkshire Bank all lost deposits over the past year, FDIC data shows.