UPPER DARBY - Wells Fargo is closing six branches nationwide, including one in the Philadelphia region. According to a filing with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the San Francisco-based banking giant will shutter its location at 18 Garrett Road in Upper Darby.
In addition to the Upper Darby location, the bank filed to close branches in Virginia, North Carolina, Montana, Minnesota, and Georgia.
A Shrinking Local Footprint
This latest news follows a broader trend for the bank in the region. In late June, Wells Fargo announced plans to close branches at 341 W. Cheltenham Ave. in Melrose Park and 228 S. Black Horse Pike in Runnemede, New Jersey, as part of a list of 18 planned closures across the country.
The expected closures will leave Wells Fargo with 121 branches in southeastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey. Over the past 10 years, the bank has closed 61 Philadelphia-area branches, according to Office of the Comptroller of the Currency records. During that same period, the bank opened only one new branch in Collegeville.
The Battle for Philadelphia's Deposits
Despite the drastic decline in physical locations across the Philadelphia area, Wells Fargo's local deposits total has remained relatively flat over the past five years. According to annual FDIC data, as of June 30, 2025, the bank had $32.3 billion in deposits in the Philadelphia market, representing a 15.55% market share in the eight-county region. That figure was down slightly from $33.3 billion in 2020 but remains higher than its $28.2 billion total in 2015.
Recently, Wells Fargo ceded its longtime standing as the region's largest bank by deposits to TD Bank. The Mount Laurel-based institution currently holds $33.5 billion in local deposits, resulting in a 16.15% market share. The remaining banks with at least a 10% deposit market share include:
- PNC Bank: 11.8%
- Bank of America: 11.3%
- Citizens Bank: 10.7%
Regulatory Shifts and Modernization
The competitive landscape may soon shift again as regulatory actions change. While TD Bank has claimed the top spot in three of the past four years, federal regulators imposed a cap on parent company TD Bank Group's assets in October 2024 after the bank pleaded guilty to charges regarding a failure to control money laundering effectively. Since the ruling, TD has been cutting costs.
Conversely, the Federal Reserve lifted an asset cap on Wells Fargo last summer. The cap was implemented in 2018 following a series of corporate scandals—including the opening of millions of accounts without customer authorization—and hampered the bank's ability to expand.
While Wells Fargo is reducing its overall number of branches, it is heavily investing in its remaining footprint. Philadelphia was selected as one of six markets for the rollout of a sweeping overhaul of the bank's branches, a project that was completed locally late last year. This initiative is part of a broader plan to modernize more than 4,000 branches nationwide, featuring redesigned interiors, updated layouts, and new digital tools to streamline transactions and create more space for in-depth financial conversations.
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