Despite a trickle of closures in recent years, more bank branch locations remain in the Chicago area today than a decade ago. According to Richard Fleming, a partner in Bain & Company's New York office, banks keep branches open in part because they fear what might happen if they close a lot of them. "There is a bit of a Mexican standoff," he says. "Am I going to close my branches? Are you going to close your branches? Because there's a group of customers for whom (such convenience) is important.”