The Sequim Union Bank at 901 W. Washington St., will close its doors Feb. 20. Officials with the bank sent closure notices via mail on Nov. 12 informing customers of the anticipated closure date.
The Sequim branch is one of many Union Banks closing as the corporation vacates the Olympic Peninsula. The Port Angeles, Port Townsend and Poulsbo locations also will be closing the same date as the Sequim branch. The following week the Bremerton, Gig Harbor and Silverdale branches also will shutter their doors.
Before making the decision to close any particular branch, officials with Union Bank consider the economic factors, overall market and the customers’ changing preferences, Alan Gulick, director of corporate communications, said.
“It was a very hard decision,” Gulick said. “The decision had to be made to stay competitive in a tough environment.”
Although Gulick said bank customers don’t need to do anything immediately and can continue using their existing checks, coupons and deposit slips – eventually he would encourage customers to schedule an appointment with the staff at their local bank branch to decide what alternative banking options would be best come Feb. 20.
Following the multiple closures, the nearest Union Bank location for Sequim customers will be the Bainbridge Island branch. All existing Union Bank accounts belonging to decommissioned branches will be transferred to the Bainbridge location.
While customers’ accounts can be transferred, the Sequim, Port Angeles, Port Townsend and Poulsbo branches employed 13 people. Of the 13 employees, three worked at the Sequim branch.
“No one is out of a job today,” Gulick said. “Our goal is to retain that talent.”
However, Gulick said, if no other positions are offered, those losing their job will be able to participate in the corporation’s “Separation Pay Program” that includes a job transition system.
Within two to three years, Union Bank officials aspire to add branches throughout Washington and Oregon and plan to continue to invest in the region by doing so, Gulick said.
Additionally, Union Bank officials will continue to enhance their online and mobile banking options.
Mary Bell, a Sequim resident and customer of the Sequim Union Bank branch, said she recently received the notice in the mail about the bank closure, but it didn’t specify that all Union Bank locations on the Olympic Peninsula were closing.
“It’s nice when you can feel like you can walk into your bank and talk to someone,” Bell said. “We’ll be losing that person-to-person experience.”
Bell said she doesn’t have a computer, so online banking is not an option for her, but she plans to utilize the banks phone services to order checks and make transfers between accounts.
