A prominent financial institution has closed three branches in the same state.
While the closures mean less in-person assistance for local customers, the bank's CEO has promised it will leave benefits for the community.
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Select account holders with First National Bank and Trust Company in southwest Oklahoma will be affected, according to KOSU, a radio station run by Oklahoma State University.
First National Bank and Trust has been in Oklahoma since before it became a state.
It was founded in 1892 as Citizens Bank, before becoming First National Bank and Trust in 1938 after a merger, according to its website.
In 2024, there will be 14 bank branches throughout Oklahoma.
However, that number will drop to 11 after First National Bank and Trust closes its branches in Alex, Cyril and Rush Springs.
It is expected to close in the coming weeks, but no final work date has been announced.
Mike Van Sickle, chief experience officer at First National Bank and Trust, noted that the uptick in online banking was partly to blame for the closures.
First National Bank and Trust found that customers in these three areas were using their debit cards and mobile banking apps much more than visiting branches.
Still available
“What we did is we listened to those communities, and they are banking online,” VanSickle told KOSU.
“Of course, there will be those who will go to our locations, and now they will have to drive 18 miles.”
“But the vast majority of our customer base uses our electronic channels,” he added.
Customers who frequent Alex, Cyril or Rush Springs branches can head to the next closest location for full service.
However, VanSickle noted that ATMs will be installed in the closing areas for deposits and withdrawals.
Managers of the closed branches will also continue to assist local communities from the headquarters outside Chickasha.
The last thing we wanted to do was leave any of those communities out in the cold.
Mike Vansickle
Along with the ATMs, First National Bank and Trust plans to invest in soccer programs in the Alex, Cyril and Rush Springs areas, along with donating the buildings in which the branches are located to them.
Other banks have also confirmed their closure in recent months.
Banking bloodbath
Citizens Bank indicated in October that it would close 15 branches in six states in the Northeast.
Most, including a location in East Providence, Rhode Island, will close permanently on Jan. 22, 2025, a spokesperson told Providence Business News (PRN).
At least 29 Citizens Bank branches have closed in Rhode Island since 2014.
The majority of closures occurred during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
In 2024, at least 79 branches were closed among institutions including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo.
Traditional banking has seen a significant decline overall since 2009, with 20,000 locations closing since then, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
At least 18 banks will also permanently close inside Walmart stores across the country by the end of the year.
