RJ and Makay

Former Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Meredith Whitney says U.S. banks will close 5,000 branches in the next 18 months due to declining profits spurred by a drop in demands for loans and lower fee revenue.

While consumers work on reducing debt, banks face an “uphill battle” in generating loan growth, and will receive less revenue from fees due to new regulations and the lack of a securitization market.