Chinook's Wells Fargo bank branch will cease operations Wednesday, May 17th
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Keith Hanson
The Wells Fargo branch in Chinook will official cease operating on May 17 of this year. The current bank has gone through several name and ownership changes since it was first chartered in 1916. The bank moved to its current location on Indiana Street in 1973. Nationwide Wells Fargo has plans to close 400+ branches.
The Chinook branch of Wells Fargo will cease operations on Wednesday, May 17 at 12 pm. That will end a century of banking by the successor banks to the original Blaine Bank of Montana that was chartered in 1916. Wells Fargo's Julie Fogerson, Montana Regional Communications spokesperson, said from her Boise, Idaho office, "The closure is the result of an evaluation of our network in the region." Wells Fargo announced plans to close about 200 branches, nationwide, in 2017 after closing nearly 100 in 2016. An additional 200+ closures are scheduled for 2018.
A short history of the Wells Fargo
branch in Chinook
The bank in Chinook that is currently a part of the Wells Fargo system, was first chartered in 1916 as the Blaine Bank of Montana. The facility occupied a couple of different sites in Chinook before locating in 1973 to its current building at the corner of Indiana and Fourth Street in downtown. The bank became Norwest Bank Montana, in the mid-1990's, after being bought by a Minneapolis banking company. Wells Fargo took over the branch after a 1998 merger when the California-based banking company merged with Norwest, out of Minneapolis.
While ramping up its branch closure schedule, Wells Fargo has been slow to react to the changing trends in how people prepare to bank-online and through mobile devices. According to research by Canisteo Savings and Loan Association (CSLA analyzes the banking industry), Wells Fargo branch count has declined about 2% since 2012. To compare, Chase branch network was reduced its branches by 9% and Bank of America by 15%. Last fall a bank analyst with CSLA told "CNNMoney" he believed Wells Fargo would need to ultimately close 1,000 branches. Other news reports noted that Wells Fargo has about 6,000 branches in 39 states, that's 1,000 more branches than any other bank in America.
The Chinook closure
Fogerson, who provided comments about the closing in Chinook, said, "It's the first closing, so far, in our region. There was a January, 2017 news release announcing the closure of 400+ branches during this year and in to 2018." The Chinook branch is a part of a region including Idaho, eastern Oregon and Washington, Wyoming and Montana. Fogerson said local Wells Fargo customers were notified in advance of the closing to allow time to make alternative banking arrangements.
Asked about the status of employees at the local branch, Fogerson said, "Our hope is always to retain team members in this district or within the Wells Fargo system." Other news stories confirmed that most employees from closed branches were placed with other Wells Fargo branches. Responding to a question about disposition of the building, she said there was no decision she was aware of at this time.
The closure of the Chinook branch appears to be the result of changing behavior related to how consumers conduct their banking. The trend toward accessing services and products via non-face to face technologies has affected other businesses, including some of the major retailers in the country-Macy's announced in January it would be closing about 70 stores in 2017. National banking trends seem to be hitting Main Street America-in this case it's Indiana Street. Trends change and a century old local institution is going away.
