Wells Fargo is planning to close down hundreds of branches as the bank is struggling to recover from a scandal that involved bogus bank accounts. The bank had admitted that its employees opened to 2 million fraudulent checking and credit accounts without customers’ permission. The bank feels the only way to counter the diminishing sales at branches and to avoid spending on legal and regulatory investigations is to close the branches. From 2016 through 2018 the bank expects to close at least 484 branches, the bank told analysts on a conference call earlier. The bank said it will restructure employment in marketing, finance and technology; reduce spending on facilities and on travel not related to customers; intensify online and digital products; and deliver a new generation of payments capabilities.