In a bid to boost service, regional lender Webster Bank has expanded banking hours at nearly half its branches across Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Westchester County, N.Y.
Starting Monday, 89 of Webster’s 181 branches will operate from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Wednesday; 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday; and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday (click here for list).
Sixty-four Connecticut branches, many of them in the Hartford area, are included in the service-hour expansion. Eleven are in Massachusetts; eight in Westchester County; and six in Rhode Island.
In addition, drive-up windows at many Webster branches open before 9 a.m. The branches chosen for extended hours were used by eight out of 10 Webster customers in the last year, the bank said.
Webster also added two extra banking days for 2010, declaring all its branches will open on Columbus Day (Oct. 11) and Veterans Day (Nov. 11). Rhode Island depositors will get a third new banking day, Victory Day (Aug. 9).
“By extending our hours, we are meeting their expectation for convenience,” said James C. Smith, Webster’s chairman and CEO.
Longer branch hours are the first in a series of changes planned for 2010 to improve its customer service, Webster said.
The first nine branches to offer extended hours went on the new schedule in recent weeks, the bank said.
