Bank To Close 16 Of Its Philly-Area Branches

Update: This article now has additional information from Fulton Bank, including three additional upcoming branch closures

GREATER PHILADELPHIA — Fulton Bank, which acquired the assets of Republic First Bank when it was shut down earlier this year, will close 16 of its branches around Greater Philadelphia and South Jersey.

Fulton Financial Corporation will shutter locations later this year as a cost-cutting measure, according to financial statements filed last week. The move will consolidate Fulton's operations now that the company has picked up Republic Bank's former branches in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Federal regulators seized and shut down Republic Bank in April after the struggling bank failed. Fulton acquired Republic Bank's assets, picking up the shuttered bank's branches and customers.

Thirteen of the branches closing were acquired from Republic Bank, becoming redundant after the merger. Fulton is in the process of sending letters to impacted customers, with recommendations of nearby branches, a company spokesperson told Patch.

"While it's never easy to close one of our financial centers, it's sometimes necessary after we evaluate factors including overlapping service areas and trends in how customers conduct their banking," the spokesperson said. "Consolidations like these enable us to operate more efficiently and invest in new financial services, while maintaining a network of financial centers where we meet with customers, listen and understand their needs, and recommend the best financial solutions for them."

The following locations, which formerly belonged to Republic Bank, will close Nov. 22:

• 1460 E Route 70, Cherry Hill, New Jersey
• 514 N Kings Highway, Cherry Hill, New Jersey
• 1302 Route 38, Hainesport, New Jersey
• 195 N Greentree Rd., Marlton, New Jersey
• 153 Bridgeton Pike, Mullica Hill, New Jersey
• 1101 Tilton Rd., Northfield, New Jersey
• 6 Haddonfield-Berlin Rd., Voorhees, New Jersey
• 303 Egg Harbor Rd., Sewell, New Jersey
• 201 N Route 73, West Berlin, New Jersey
• 1701 John F Kennedy Blvd., Philadelphia
• 1220 N Broad Street, Philadelphia
• 8000 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia
• 2100 Street Rd., Bensalem, Pennsylvania

Three Fulton facilities, which were not acquired from Republic Bank, are closing Sept. 16:

• 201 E 9th Street, Ocean City, New Jersey
• 178 E Greentree Rd., Marlton, New Jersey
• 212 E Lancaster Ave., Wayne, Pennsylvania

The closures will leave Fulton with about 60 branches in Greater Philadelphia and South Jersey.

Two Fulton branches in New York City will also close Sept. 16.

Fulton has about 230 branches and ATMs around the Mid-Atlantic, according to its website. The Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based company projects to lose about $10 million from shutting down the 13 former Republic branches, before the move saves $8 million per year, according to Fulton's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Projected expenses from the closure include $1 million in employee severance. But it's unclear how many employees might get laid off.

"Between now and when the financial centers are scheduled to close," a Fulton spokesperson said, "our Human Resources team will work with affected employees to integrate them into a new role or help in identifying current openings they can apply for within our company."