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Source: The Indianapolis StarAug.文件倉 25--Jason DeHaven rarely makes a trip to the bank -- four, maybe five, times a year.He went when he had to get a mortgage for his house and when he needed an auto loan. He goes when he has a big check to deposit.The rest of the time, the 36-year-old Georgia resident and son of the Indiana Bankers Association president turns to the Internet for his banking need."That's where I do most of my banking," he said.DeHaven illustrates an ongoing shift within the banking industry: a subsiding need for the face-to-face interaction that comes with a trip to the bank as online and mobile technologies make transactions more convenient.Along with banking consolidations and mergers, this change in consumer behavior is eliminating the need for as many bank branches, a decline some experts say could grow larger in the future as the technologically savvy generation comes of age.Although new branches still open as customer needs warrant, only five states saw more openings than closings in the 12 months that ended March 31. Indiana experienced a net decrease of 55 branches, the fourth highest in the U.S. Nationwide, 1,107 branches opened, while 2,164 closed, according to research firm SNL Financial.Retail experts say these closings have left a number of former bank locations vacant, though they say that because of high traffic and visibility, the sites are fairly desirable.The bigger question is this: Could more branches close, eliminating your local branch and your friendly relationship with a familiar teller?Some experts say no.Others say yes."My personal belief is that we will see a continuing decrease in the gross number of branches nationwide as time goes on," said S. Joe DeHaven, president and chief executive officer of the Indiana Bankers Association and Jason's father. "I don't think it'll be rapid. I think it'll be a fairly slow and steady decrease over probably the next 25 years."On Aug. 30, Old National Bank will close 13 of its branches within retail centers such as Marsh and Kroger.After acquiring Charter One's Indiana franchise in 2009, the company was left with too many locations too close to one another. Leases for many branches were coming due for renewal, and the company decided to close some."We've got other branches that are within reasonable proximity to take care of those customers," said Randy Reichmann, president and CEO of Old National's Indianapolis region. "It's just an efficient thing that we think can still decrease costs."Acquisitions have prompted closingsRetail experts say such acquisitions have prompted the closure of many of the branch closings. When Old National acquired Monroe Bank in 2011, the company was left with banks that were across from each other, said Bill French, senior managing director and principal at commercial real estate firm Cassidy Turley. When First Merchants Bank acquired Lincoln Bank in 2008, there were duplicate branches."What I see more than anything," said Steve Delaney, a principal with the retail real estate firm Sitehawk, "is bank branches closing not because of lack of business but because of banks consolidating or banks buying other banks."Over the past three years, according to an April report by financial consulting services firm Bancography, the inventory of U.S. bank and credit union branches has declined by almost 2,500 units. About half of those closures, it found, directly followed in-market mergers.Amid the wave of mergers, changing consumer behavior plays a role, too."There's going to come a time when I think they will be used less as the next generation comes of age," Reichmann said. "There'll be an evolution. There's no question about it. As I look at my kids and their banking habits now, they're certainly different from mine when I was 30 because of what technology offers."Customers can pay their bills online with the click of a computer mouse. They can tap the screens of their smartphones and check their account balance. They can snap a photo of a check with their phone and deposit it remotely. Indianapolis-based Salin Bank recently became the first in Indiana to use a virtual teller -- an ATM machine with a video monitor that shows a remotely located human teller who can assist with transactions.A 2012 American Bankers Association report found that 39 pe存倉cent of surveyed adults most often used Internet banking to manage accounts, up from 36 percent in 2010. Eighteen percent said visiting a branch was their preferred method, down from 25 percent in 2010.Bancography reported that median branch transaction counts declined to 7,600 per month in 2012, down from 10,200 five years prior."It's probably just a symptom of the fact that we don't need that personal interaction as much as we used to," Jason DeHaven said, "because we have more self-service channels like the Web and the ATM."What happens to the empty space?When bank branches do close and leave vacant spots, retail experts say it is not too hard to fill them.Banks tend to be well-constructed, they say, and be in areas with high traffic and good visibility and access.French, of Cassidy Turley, has seen everything from yogurt shops and insurance offices to chiropractic facilities and veterinarian clinics go into former banking centers."Generally banks were very pragmatic about acquiring sites with good access and visibility," he said, "so the demand for those should be very strong."But some design elements of bank branches can present challenges, Delaney of Sitehawk said."It was designed as a bank branch," he said, "so it can be difficult to retrofit a bank branch because they're designed with drive-thrus and they have a vault inside. The configuration of a bank branch does not necessarily lend itself to other types of retail."Because of the valuable locations, however, the vacant centers are still relatively easy to sell or lease."If the location is desirable," Delaney said, "the new retailer will tear down the existing branch and build the type of retail that they need."Even with the challenges, retrofitting a location is feasible.Delaney is working on a deal right now that involves a Panda Express moving into a former bank location in Evansville.The restaurant is using the building mostly as it is, converting the drive-thru space into one that works for fast-food purposes."It can work," Delaney said.When vacant branches are within larger retail centers such as grocery stores, retail consultants say, other services may take their place: nail and hair salons, computer repair shops, optometry centers. For those spaces, the number of people going through the store will determine whether other retailers take interest."If it's a high-value store, there will be a number of people that will want that space," French said."If it's a lower-volume store, it's going to be more challenging to refill that space."Banks will find ways to adjust to needsAs the generation that grew up on the Internet and cellphones ages, some industry experts say banks will have to find ways to adjust to their habits.Because online transactions are going to take away a lot of the necessity of branches, S. Joe DeHaven said, large branches could be replaced with much smaller branches.There will be more automation and self-service opportunities in those branches.And their focus also may change, going from a transaction-based operation to a consultative one. Staff will focus on opening accounts and talking to people about loans or offer financial planning rather than deposit checks and make withdrawals."Those folks who are less technologically oriented and older, they're going to be replaced with by a generation that is technologically advanced and does most everything online," DeHaven said. "The branch will become much less transactional."In 30 years, he said, the bank teller as consumers know it today may not exist."The customers aren't coming in anymore," he said. "The customers are not pursuing that relationship."Other industry professionals say the need to provide personal interaction will remain."Customer behavior has changed, and customers bank differently than they did in the past, and a lot of that has to do with technology," said Tara Burke, spokeswoman for Bank of America."But a lot of them tell us face-to-face interaction is still important."If an exodus of bank branches were to happen in the future, it would not concern Jason DeHaven too much. If he needs the human interaction, he will seek it out."It's not a huge problem," he said.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 The Indianapolis Star Visit The Indianapolis Star at .IndyStar.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉