Bridgeport-based regional lender People’s United Bank will close 18 Connecticut branches of Hartford-based United Bank, which it acquired Nov. 1, for $759 million.
People’s United confirmed the branch count to HBJ on Wednesday morning, and said the closures — concentrated mainly in Greater Hartford — will take place by April.
People’s United said last year that reducing its footprint after the deal would be a key part of its strategy to reduce annual costs by $88 million pre-tax.
[Update] The bank released the full list of 18 locations Wednesday afternoon.
Branches to be closed include:
- Bristol, 888 Farmington Ave.
- Enfield Big Y, 65 Palomba Dr.
- Enfield, 231 Hazard Ave.
- Glastonbury, 1009 Hebron Ave.
- Glastonbury, 2670 Main St.
- Greenwich, 415 Greenwich Ave.
- Hartford, 151 Asylum St.
- Manchester, 768 N Main St.
- Manchester Big Y, 234 Tolland Turnpike
- Rockville, 25 Park St.
- South Windsor, 161 Nevers Road
- Southington, 158 North Main St.
- South Windsor, 1645 Ellington Road
- Vernon Circle, 35 Talcottville Road
- Waterford, 124B Boston Post Road
- West Hartford, 102 Lasalle Road
- Westport, 370 Post Road East
- Windsor Locks, 20 Main St.
Of United Bank’s 60 branches in Connecticut and western Massachusetts, about 37 are located within two miles of a People’s United branch.
“The result will be a thoughtfully integrated branch network that has been optimized to eliminate overlap and deliver our combined customers continued convenient access to a People’s United branch,” People’s United CEO Jack Barnes said in a statement Wednesday.
Barnes said the resulting branch footprint, which includes extended-hours Stop & Shop locations, combined with its mobile and online banking services, results in a statewide presence that is “stronger than ever.”
After it acquired Farmington Bank and its approximately 30 branches last year for $544 million, People’s United closed over a dozen locations and laid off 95 people.
People’s United, which is now the largest Connecticut-based bank by deposits, said it is offering all United Bank employees in closed branches a job in other locations.
“We told all the folks in the branches that they would have a job,” Barnes told HBJ on Tuesday. “If you want the opportunity, you’ll have it.”
Besides branch closings, the United Bank acquisition also promises to reshuffle leased office space in Hartford. HBJ was first to report this month that People’s United plans to reduce its square-footage in the Gold Building, and move employees to United Bank’s Goodwin Square headquarters, where the bank may also trim space, eliminating several of five leased floors.
This story has been updated to include the full list of closing branches in Connecticut, which People’s United released Wednesday afternoon.
