Many Bay Area banks temporarily closed, impacting customers due to COVID-19

HAYWARD, Calif. (KGO) -- If you do business with two of America's biggest banks, you may find the closest branch is temporarily closed due to the novel coronavirus pandemic with no clue as to when it will reopen.

Business is booming at the ATM. But at the Bank of America branch on A Street in Hayward, it is closed.

"Yeah, the one on Hesperian is open, but the line is so long or sometimes I go to Oakland because it's not that busy," said Caroline, Bank of America customer, who said the next closest branch is two-and-a-half miles away.

We looked at Bank of America's website and found at least 79 branches closed throughout the Bay Area. The company warned back in March it may change or reduce hours and temporarily close banking centers to keep customers and employees safe from COVID-19.

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And it's not just Bank of America.

"I'm angry because I work between Oakland and San Francisco, and there's a Wells Fargo over by my job and it's closed," said Chet Hayes, who banks with Wells Fargo.

The Wells Fargo branch on MacArthur Boulevard in Oakland was closed as well.

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Wells Fargo's website finds at least 62 locations - scattered throughout the region - are temporarily shutdown.

We reached out to both North Carolina-based Bank of America and San Francisco-based Wells Fargo for comment.

Wells Fargo sent a statement saying:

"We continue to take several steps to support our clients and employees during the health crisis, including at times briefly closing financial centers. These temporary closures have occurred in areas where we're seeing fewer visits; where a smaller location may be near a larger location that is better able to accommodate physical distancing; or when our staffing is not sufficient for all to remain open.

We still have more than 90 financial centers currently open in the Bay Area, and when a center closes we work to reopen it as soon as possible. Clients always have the ability to manage many of their financial needs through our ATM network, as well as through mobile and online banking.

Our branch locator tool at bankofamerica.com and dedicated phone number (866-834-9286) offers the most up to date information on hours of operation as well as the nearest ATMs."

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