A Webster Bank branch in downtown Boston. Photo by James Sanna | Banker & Tradesman Staff

Connecticut-based Webster Bank will close four of its seven Boston branches as part of a consolidation plan that will reduce its branch footprint by 17 percent.

The $33 billion-asset bank will close 27 branches in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. The closings include at least 10 of Webster’s 29 Eastern Massachusetts branches, called banking centers by Webster.

“Consistent with industry trends, Webster Bank has increased its focus on digital banking channels while balancing physical locations, driven by increased usage of online and mobile banking,” Webster Bank said in a statement last week. “As we further adapt to this continued evolution of customer preferences, Webster will consolidate 27 banking centers in the spring of 2021, and these locations will be integrated into nearby banking centers.”

The Boston banking centers that will close, according to information filed with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, include the Downtown Crossing office at 70 Summer St., the Government Center office at 100 Cambridge St., the Fenway location at 1367-1375 Boylston St. near Star Market and Target, and the South End branch at 1365 Washington St.

Webster’s other downtown office at 100 Franklin St.t will remain open, as will the Copley Square branch at 491 Boylston St. and the Chinatown branch at 25 Stuart St.

Two Cambridge branches will close – Porter Square and Binney Street – leaving just the Harvard Square banking center there. Newton and Quincy will lose their only Webster branches.

New Bedford and Fall River will each lose one of their two branches, with banking centers closing in Fall River’s South End and on Pleasant Street in New Bedford. Webster Bank also has nine Rhode Island branches, and so far only the East Greenwich location is slated to close.

Outside of Suffolk County, Webster’s nine Bristol County banking centers hold the most deposits for the bank in Massachusetts with $772.4 million, according to the FDIC’s annual June 30 summary of deposits report. Webster had about 5.7 percent of the deposits in Bristol County as of June 30. Bank of America had $2.17 billion, while Bristol County Savings Bank had $1.96 billion, combined representing about a 30 percent market share.

The three Cambridge branches had a combined $65.1 million in deposits, with the Harvard Square branch holding $31.6 million.

Webster Bank as of Sept. 30 had $27.1 billion in deposits.

The bank said last week it was communicating with customers about the consolidation.

“As always, we are dedicated to meeting our customers’ financial needs and service expectations,” Webster Bank said in the statement. “Our banking centers remain an important component in serving consumers and businesses, and our commitment to the communities we serve remains strong.”

Correction: Webster Bank has nine branches in Rhode Island. A previous version of this article said it has seven branches.

Webster Names Mass. Branches It Will Close

by Diane McLaughlin time to read: 2 min
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