Buffalo, N.Y.-based First Niagara Financial Group recently announced it will consolidate 17 branches and two off-premise, drive-thru locations across its four-state footprint in January.
Online banking, not a downturn, appears to be the cause.
In Fairfield County, the move, which the company in a press release called a continuing evaluation of its branch network, involves First Niagara’s Ridgefield branch closing and folding into the Norwalk branch on New Canaan Avenue; the Fairfield Woods branch in Fairfield closing and folding into the Fairfield Center Branch on the Post Road in Fairfield; the Main Street, Monroe, branch closing and folding into the Shelton branch on Bridgeport Avenue; the Wilton branch on Danbury Road closing and folding into the Norwalk Branch on New Canaan Avenue; and the High Ridge Road branch in Stamford closing and folding into the Springdale branch on Hope Street in Stamford.
“Team members who are impacted by these changes will either transition to new, customer-facing roles or will have an opportunity to apply for any of the more than 200 open positions within the company,” First Niagara said in the press release.
As part of the plan, the company said, “First Niagara has continued to invest in mobile and online banking technologies, which are now used by more than 200,000 and 500,000 of its customers, respectively. Following these changes, the company will continue to operate more than 390 branch locations across its four-state footprint.”
“Across the financial services industry, branch traffic and the number of transactions handled per branch are declining and self-service transactions are increasing. First Niagara is no different,” said Mark Rendulic, First Niagara executive vice president, consumer financial services, in the press release. “A majority of customers prefer online, mobile and ATMs for simple transactions ”“ and their use of these technologies is growing.
“As customer preferences continue to change, we are committed to evolving our branch network and our in-branch services to keep pace with their needs,” Rendulic said.
Customers of the impacted branches will receive a written notice, sent 90 days in advance of the closing date, the bank said. The majority of the receiving branches are within 3 miles of the closing branch and customer accounts will be automatically moved to the receiving branch.
The bank continues to operate 410 branches.
