The bank branches are "moving the cage to change birds", closing down some in batches while establishing new ones to fill the gaps.

Driven by the ongoing digitization trend, offline branches of commercial banks have not continued to shrink as expected by the outside world, but rather have shown a trend of structural improvement with some closing and some opening. "A few years ago, everyone was discussing how unpopular branches were, but now it is clearly different." A person in charge of a rural commercial bank branch in a newly opened community branch in Shanghai exclaimed to the reporter. Since the branches have been integrated into the community, services such as elderly universities, agricultural product discounts, and comprehensive financial consultations for the elderly have been continuously implemented, and more and more residents are starting to see the branches as their local "convenience center." These newly established branches are not isolated cases. According to incomplete statistics from the reporter, by 2025, over 8000 commercial bank branches have closed, while over 8400 have been newly opened. The number of bank branches is experiencing a counter-trend increase. According to the reporter's research, on one hand, old and outdated branches with low foot traffic and limited functions are closing orderly, while on the other hand, new types of branches embedded in communities and offering diverse services are flourishing. Bank branches are transitioning from the question of "should we keep them" to the challenge of "how do we reshape them."