Newtown Webster Bank Among 6 Branches to Close

The Webster Bank on Church Hill Road has been chosen to be one of six branches to close, the company announced Thursday.

"Consumers and business are conducting more routine banking business over the Internet, through ATMs, at point-of-sale and using their mobile phone," Anne Slattery, executive vice president for retail banking at Webster said in a company press release. "Their visits to our branches are less frequent and more often are focused on addressing customers' more complex financial needs."

The company said the shift in how consumers interact with the bank has changed and the bank is more focused on "delivering customers the services and products when, where and how they want them."

The branch at 14 Church Hill Road as well as the one inside the Southbury Supermarket at 775 Main St. South, Southbury and four others in Wolcott, New Preston, Torrington and Mansfield, MA will close as of Oct. 7, under the company's plan.

Officials said the locations were chosen because 90-percent of the customers who have their accounts at those branches also use other nearby Webster branches. There are numerous Webster branches in next-door Monroe, Brookfield and Danbury. Southbury also has another Webster Bank branch at 100 Main St. North that will remain open.

Company officials said employees who are not managers of the six branches to close will be assigned new locations and those who are managers will be eligible to apply for open positions within Webster.

No additional closures are expected, according to the company.