CLEVELAND — PNC Bank is rolling out more options for people who have little or no access to banking services.
PNC's mobile bank branch is making stops at several organizations across Northeast Ohio, including the Greater Cleveland Food Bank.
The 30-foot truck features services similar to brick-and-mortar bank branches.
"We have an ATM, we can take an application and open a savings or checking account immediately," said Pat Pastore, Regional President of PNC Cleveland. "We can issue a debit card and we can also take loan applications and so forth."
Those services are becoming harder to find in Cleveland.
A recent analysis of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation data by Signal Cleveland shows banks closed branches in Cleveland at nearly two times the rate as they did in the rest of Cuyahoga County over the last decade. Cleveland had almost 30% fewer bank branches in 2023 than it did in 2013.
News 5 reported in February that Huntington Bank's branch in the Buckeye neighborhood shut down temporarily due to violence in the area. The bank branch's future is still uncertain.
At least one bank is bucking the trend. Lupe Sanchez from Bank of America told Good Morning Cleveland anchor Mike Brookbank that BoA is opening new branches in Northeast Ohio.
"We're currently at 14 financial centers throughout the Northeast Ohio area. We have plans to open two more this year and we will continue to grow into 2026," said Sanchez.
Research from the nonprofit Prosperity Now shows about 5% of Cleveland households do not have a bank account. About 13% of Cleveland households are considered "underbanked," meaning they have a bank account, but they rely on check-cashing services and payday lenders.
"As you can imagine how difficult it would be going through your daily routine, if you can't pull out a debit card and you don't have the ability to write a check for something," said Pastore. "It's our goal to build stronger communities through financial empowerment."
