Bank of America inking biggest branch deals

The last few years have been a time of paring back across Bank of America, and the Charlotte bank's national branch network has been no exception. New data released Thursday by SNL Financial shows that the bank hasn't been afraid to cut it back in large chunks.

Of the 10 biggest bank branch deals of this year, Bank of America was the seller in half of them -- including the four largest.  Those deals alone resulted in the sale of 112 branches across the country. As of the third quarter, Bank of America had about 300 fewer branches than it did last year.

The bank has been selling branches to regional players in the markets where it is scaling back. Here are the five largest deals Bank of America has announced this year:

• 51 branches sold to Washington Federal Inc. in Seattle. The branches are in Washington, Idaho, Oregon and New Mexico.
• 24 branches to Old National Bancorp in Evansville, Ind. Branches are in southwestern Michigan and northern Indiana.
• 20 branches to Berkshire Hills Bancorp in Pittsfield, Mass. Branches are in Massachusetts and New York.
• 9 branches to First Financial Corp. in Terre Haute, Ind.
• 8 branches to Community Bank System Inc. in De Witt, N.Y. Branches are in northeastern Pennsylvania.

 While many large banks have been trimming back their brick-and-mortar branches as more transaction activity moves online, Bank of America has cut more than its peers. SNL Financial earlier found that the bank had cut more branches in the last four years than any other bank.

***Sign up for our morning email newsletter -- the Bank Watch Morning Report. Find out more here.***