Not every branch will get a face lift, however. According to the study, 70% of institutions said they plan to remodel one to two branches. Another 12% plan to remodel three to five branches, 3% plan to remodel six to nine branches, and 5% plan to remodel 10 or more branches this year.

Almost all (94%) of institutions remodeling their locations are not reducing the size of their branches, which marks a major swing from the 51% last year that said they were indeed reducing branch footprints. Of the few institutions that are shrinking their branch sizes during remodels, 86% said they're maxing out at 2,000 square feet. Branches are 2,116 square feet on average, according to the survey, and only about 20% of credit unions said their branches are larger than 2,000 square feet.

One reason remodels may be gaining steam is that they may not have to compete as hard with new construction for funding. Only 32% of credit unions and 34% of banks said they plan to add branches in 2015 – numbers that are below the 39% of all financial institutions in the 2014 report that reported plans to open new branches.

Of those institutions that are adding branches this year, however, the vast majority (87%) plan to add one or two locations; only 4% said they plan to add 10 or more. Expanding the branch network, attracting new deposits and enhancing the branch experience were the largest reasons for opening new locations, the study noted, though nearly all of those new locations (79%) will be 2,000 square feet or less.

The study also found a majority of credit unions plan to build their new locations in multi-tenant buildings. The majority of banks, however, said they plan to build freestanding structures.