Milk, Bread and Banking Make the List

Chicago supermarkets have most branches in U.S., study shows

The convenience of banking at the grocery store has made Chicago a leader.

The city currently has the nation's most in-store bank branches at 353 retailers, according to a financial industry data study.

Chicago's bucking a recent trend that has seen declines in many cities across the country. In January, there were 6,747 branches versus 6,885 in June of 2009.

"We've seen a decrease of 138 U.S. in-store branches, and if this trend continues, we'll see the first year-over-year decrease since 2002," SNL Financial analyst Adrian Goffinet told the Chicago Tribune.

Nearly half of the supermarket banks belong to Minnesota-based TCF Financial. 

Nationally, U.S. Bancorp of Minneapolis has the most in-store branches. They plan to expand their presence to other "on-site" institutions, including hospitals and race tracks in the Chicago area. Currently, they have a branch on the Northwestern University campus.

"Our mantra is it's 50 percent the same as traditional branch banking and 50 percent different," Chuck Stroup, U.S. Bank's executive vice president of in-store banking told the Tribune. "The difference is you're inside a grocery store or a university campus or a workplace that allows you to be proactive in a way that a traditional branch wouldn't."

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