First Niagara Bank Closing Two Locations in Manchester

By Rich Scinto (Patch Staff)

First Niagara Bank is closing it’s 923 Main St. location and its branch office in ShopRite at 214 Spencer St. in Manchester as part of a contraction in branch offices and ATM locations that also includes a branch in Vernon and 14 other locations in Connecticut, the bank has announced.

The bank still has several other locations in Manchester that remain open, according to the bank’s website:

• 220 N. Main St.
• 285 E. Center St.
• 344 W. Middle Tpk.

Employees of any closed branches will either be transferred to other banks where there are openings or given a chance to apply for First Niagara jobs elsewhere, the company said.

First Niagara Financial Group announced Friday hat it would be closing the branches or two off-premises drive-thrus in Connecticut and three other states.

The branches will close their doors in January 2015.

“Across the financial services industry branch traffic, and the number of transactions handled per branch, are declining and self-service transactions are increasing. First Niagara is no different,” said Mark Rendulic, First Niagara Executive Vice President, Consumer Financial Services. “A majority of customers prefer online, mobile and ATMs for simple transactions – and their use of these technologies is growing.”

Impacted locations in Connecticut include: Manchester, Vernon, New Haven Ridgefield, Monroe, Fairfield, Wilton and Stamford.

Customers of impacted branches will receive written notice 90 days in advance of the closing date. The majority of closing branches are within three miles of another location.

Here’s a list of the other Connecticut locations:

• Closing: Westville at 36 Fountain St. New Haven. Closest branch is Woodbridge Branch at 211 Amity Rd. in Woodbridge.
• Closing: Vernon Tri-City at 35 Talcottville Rd. Closest branch is Vernon Branch at 348 Hartford Turnpike.
• Closing: Ridgefield branch at 108 Danbury Rd. Closest branch is Norwalk Branch at 79 New Canaan Ave.
• Closing: Monroe branch at 155 Main St. Closest branch is Shelton Branch at 704 Bridgeport Ave.
• Closing: Fairfield Woods at 2500 Black Rock Turnpike. Closest branch is Fairfield Center Branch at 1761 Post Rd.
• Closing: Wilton branch at 30 Danbury Rd. Closest branch is Norwalk Branch at 79 New Canaan Ave.
• Closing: High Ridge branch at 1117 High Ridge Rd. in Stamford. Closest branch is Springdale Branch at 1042 Hope St. in Stamford.

Image via Shutterstock.