Fresh regulatory filings shed light on Waterbury-based Webster Bank’s plans to consolidate 17% of its branches across southern New England in the coming months.
Webster announced its intention to eliminate 27 branches last week, but did not list any specific branches in Connecticut, Massachusetts or Rhode Island.
Recently published closure notifications filed with the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency tell most of the story, detailing 23 specific branch addresses, including 14 Connecticut closures (approximately 13% of its 110 full-service locations here), as well as eight in Massachusetts and one in Rhode Island.
Five of the Connecticut branches are in Hartford County and have been Webster locations for 20 years or longer. They include:
- 75 Park Road, West Hartford
- 1491 Silver Lane, East Hartford
- 3180 Berlin Turnpike, Newington
- 150 Main St., Bristol
- 359 Queen St., Southington
The remaining Connecticut closures, according to the OCC filings, include:
- 1 Royce Circle, Mansfield
- 975 S. Main St., Cheshire
- 5 Helen St., Hamden
- 60 Oxford Road, Oxford
- 55 Straits Turnpike, Watertown
- 696 Amity Road, Bethany
- 192 Westport Ave., Norwalk
- 169 Danbury Road, Laneville/New Milford
- 60 Washington Boulevard, Stamford
In addition, a Webster spokesperson said the bank will consolidate two Waterbury branches — Brass Mill Center and 326 Highland Ave. — into its nearby home office, bringing the total number of Connecticut closures to 16. The bank was not required to file notices about those two branches, because they are considered “short-distance relocations” under OCC regulations.
The bank has said the pending branch closures are part of a broader plan to reduce its expense base by 8% to 10% by the fourth quarter of 2021.
Correction: An earlier version of this story erroneously listed an Old Lyme branch on the list of Webster locations that are slated to close. That location is a Bank of America branch, not a Webster branch. The story also gave an incorrect address for a Webster branch in Norwalk. Webster’s plans for two Waterbury branches have also been clarified.
