Bank of America has closed two long-time branches in Hartford’s predominately minority North End, with one now home to a local credit union serving city of Hartford employees and affiliated members.
On April 24, B of A shut its full-service branch and automated teller machine at 701 Blue Hills Ave., spokesman T.J. Crawford said. Last October, the bank closed its ATM-equipped satellite at 2775 Main St., in the Terry Square neighborhood.
Both were shut, Crawford said, because they had the dubious distinction of being among the least trafficked of B of A’s nationwide network of more than 5,000 branches. Today’s consumers do more of their banking via smartphones or laptop or desktop computers, he said.
With the closings, B of A has no further plans to open or close Hartford branches or ATM sites, the spokesman said. The bank still has seven branches and or ATMs scattered throughout the city of Hartford, more than any of its peer banks, he said.
B of A, which like many state- and federally chartered lenders must meet certain minimum regulatory standards for service to customers and their communities, took steps to ensure its pullout wasn’t disruptive to the neighborhoods, Crawford said.
For instance, the bank donated its Main Street branch to Hartford Municipal Employees Federal Credit Union, he said. The credit union plans to renovate the building and open a branch there later this year, officials said.
B of A also delayed by six months closing the Blue Hills Avenue location, originally set for last October, to give the neighborhood and customers time to prepare, Crawford said.
To mute the impact of closing the ATM and to be nearer a larger core of its customers, B of A recently established an ATM-only kiosk about a mile north, at 1050 Blue Hills Ave., in Bloomfield, the spokesman said.
Finally, B of A said it installed a second ATM at its full-service branch at 919 Albany Ave., in the North End.
Crawford stressed that, despite the branch and ATM shutdowns, all of the bank’s unspecified number of employees in those locations were resettled into similar or other jobs within B of A.
— Gregory Seay
