The United States ended 2024 with 1,354 fewer retail bank branches than when the year began. The closures are a return to a longstanding trend of banks shrinking their footprints after a pause in 2023. 
Banks have long been a staple tenant for strip centers and freestanding retail pads near larger shopping hubs. With plentiful parking and dedicated drive-thrus, both types of retail real estate are coveted, making vacated banks a prime opportunity for tenants and landlords alike.
“The constraint on supply has propped up rents, in some cases higher than they should be,” said Terrison Quinn, managing principal for Southern California at SRS Real…