Action 9

Wells Fargo crisis could force branch closures

The banking giant has the most branches in the country and while many Americans are taking their banking online, Wells Fargo has done what other banks haven't -- kept most of its branches.

Wells Fargo closed just 2 percent of its locations the last few years, while Chase went down 9 percent and Bank of America dropped 15 percent, according to national reports.

Wells Fargo has 6,000 branches across 39 states.

Analysts don't see how it can maintain that, especially now, as investigators get to the bottom of the fake account scandal.

Experts expect the bank to go leaner and drop branches.

One estimates Wells Fargo could cut 1,000 locations, which would bring the bank in line with its competitors.

That many closures would clearly impact customers and the 94,000 employees that work on the retail side of the company.

Wells Fargo isn't discussing the future publicly, but didn't deny the possibility of closures or layoffs, either.

But there is some optimism out there.

Mary Mack is the head of Wells Fargo's community banking.

Former CEO Ken Thompson told Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke that Mack is a "great leader" and the "perfect choice" to lead Wells through this crisis.