Bank of America to close 10 percent of branches

In an exclusive report, The Wall Street Journal writes that Bank of America (BAC) will close 10 percent of its branches. The paper says that "The driving force for the closings is changing customer preferences." More people do their banking online and on mobile devices. The financial firm has 6,100 branches.

The closings are bad for the bank's employees but good for Bank of America's long-term earnings. That is not merely because of the savings it will get by shutting 600 branches; it is because new trends in consumer financial habits will probably lead to many more branch shutterings in the future.