What's in store for these retail banks?

• Position: Abstract

Rockville, Md., bank consultant Arnie Danielson's response to news that First Citizens BancShares Inc. is closing six of its nine Wal-Mart branches in North Carolina: "They're getting smart." But how smart remains to be seen.

The Raleigh-based bank acknowledges that the branches, slated to close in March, were poor producers. But it's not giving up on the concept. After it closes the Wal-Mart branches in Burlington, Goldsboro, Clinton, New Bern, Wilson and Mount Airy, it will still have 43, most in supermarkets. It will open a branch in a Lowe's supermarket in Greensboro in May, and though there are no plans for new Wal-Mart branches, a spokeswoman wouldn't rule them out.

Tar Heel banks began opening in-store branches in the mid-'90s. Charlotte-based Bank of America Corp. has 17 in North Carolina -- none in Wal-Marts -- but many analysts don't like them.

"They don't tend to get large enough to really make them profitable," says John Moore, banking analyst for Charlotte-based Wachovia Securities Inc. In-store branches typically plateau at about $10...