HF Financial in S.D. to Close Four In-Store Branches

Consumer banking

BOK's Decision to Ditch In-Store Branches Shows Banks' Predicament

In-store branches are a good example of the quandaries in retail banking. BOK Financial calls them outdated and has decided to ditch them, but Huntington and Fifth Third say they are high-volume sources of new accounts.

By Andy Peters

November 17
Consumer banking

BOK Financial to Close or Relocate 39 In-Store Branches

BOK Financial in Tulsa, Okla., will close or relocate all of its branches inside grocery stores in New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas in a move it says will reduce overhead by $7 million to $8 million a year.

By Andy Peters

November 12
Community banking

Old National in Indiana to Shutter 18 Branches

Old National Bancorp (ONB) in Evansville, Ind., plans to close approximately 10% of its branches in an effort to improve efficiency.

By Chris Cumming

May 23

HF Financial in Sioux Falls, S.D., is scaling back its in-store branch branches due to increased demand for online banking and the advice-oriented offerings at full-service branches.

The $1.3 billion-asset company said in a press release Tuesday that it plans to close four branches inside Hy-Vee grocery stores in Sioux Falls. After the restructuring is complete, HF will have just one in-store branch.

"Balancing the physical branch locations with a robust electronic channel is key to assuring we are exceeding expectations of our customers while providing strong value to our shareholders," Stephen Bianchi, HF's president and chief executive, said in the release.

As part of the restructuring effort, HF Financial the parent company of Home Federal Bank will move one of the Hy-Vee locations targeted for closure into a recently purchased, full-service branch.

HF announced a similar initiative in August, replacing its Hy-Vee branch in Marshall, Minn., with a newly built, standalone branch.

"We still recognize branches as being the pace where we can provide service and transactions, but more importantly advice," Bianchi said in an interview, acknowledging industry pressures on full-service locations. "We think that branches have a place in the future of banking."

Bianchi said the in-store branch closures are part of a broader strategy to invest in digital banking, adding that HF recently upgraded its online platform to include mobile capture technology.

HF is the latest in a string of banks to cut grocery store branches. The $29 billion-asset BOK Financial in Tulsa, Okla., announced last month that it would close or relocate all 39 of its in-store branches in New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, to cut overhead.

The $19 billion-asset TCF Financial in Wayzata, Minn., and the $11 billion-asset Old National Bancorp in Evansville, Ind., have also announced in-store branch closures.

HF has 27 branches in South Dakota and Minnesota, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Kristin Broughton

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