Webster Bank Announces Retail Delivery Changes (WBS)

Webster Bank, a subsidiary of Webster Financial Corporation WBS, said that it will be closing five branches and opening three new locations in 2011 in response to changing customer usage patterns and as part of ongoing efforts to optimize its branch system to better serve customer needs. "Our retail customers' behavior patterns are changing, and Webster's delivery of service is adapting with them in order to deliver best-in-class customer service," said James C. Smith, chairman, president, and CEO of Webster. "Increasingly, we are finding that customers are migrating to online banking, ATMs, mobile banking, and point-of-sale, and utilizing multiple branch locations to conduct their banking." As part of the realignment, Webster plans to close on April 1, 2011 the following five of its 136 branches in Connecticut; all five are within five miles of a Webster branch offering extended hours: Morris: 5 Watertown Road Bridgewater: 10 Kruskyville Road New Britain, South Main: 435 S. Main St. New Canaan: 215 Elm Street Woodbridge: 176 Amity Road Webster will announce the opening of three new locations in Scarsdale, N.Y.; Greenwich, Conn.; and Somerset, Mass., at a later date. "The new facilities will enable Webster to augment its presence and deepen its penetration of these markets," Smith stated. The branch closures will not result in any non-managerial job losses, and affected branch managers will be eligible to apply for open positions within Webster. Throughout this change, Webster remains committed to providing superior customer service