THUNDER BAY - The loss of a long-standing financial institution in the heart of the Westfort Village has left some residents feeling angry, while others are worried about what it will mean for the future of the tightly knit community.
The Royal Bank of Canada branch on the corner of Frederica Street and Brown Street will be serving its last customer on Friday.
“It’s terrible,” said Beulah Fedun, who has been doing her banking at the Federica Street location for the past 54 years. “I depended on it. I’ve heard from a lot of people that they will miss it.”
The closure of two RBC branches was announced last June. The Hodder Avenue location closed its doors on Dec. 9, with customers now being served at the Memorial Avenue location. Customers in Westfort will now have to travel to the new branch on Arthur Street, three kilometres away.
“It’s way more inconvenient,” said Rod MacKay outside of the Westfort RBC branch. “I don’t use computers so when I need to cash a cheque or pay a bill I used to just walk to Westfort, now I have to get in my truck and drive over there [Arthur Street].”
Scott Simon, the regional vice president for RBC in Northwestern Ontario, said it is a sad day for RBC because it has been such an important part of the Westfort community, but unfortunately, new trends in banking are making it more difficult to maintain multiple branches.
“We decided over a year ago with the way traffic patterns are in Thunder Bay, we only needed four branches in our new operating model and unfortunately we had to shut our doors here in Westfort,” he said. “The traffic is definitely down. With the onset of digital it really has impacted the financial services industry and we are not immune to that.”
Simon added that banking and retail industries are working to keep up with changes to how people shop and access services. But even though much of the changes are being driven by the younger generation, he said RBC will not forget about the needs of all its clients.
“It’s a different age and millennials are driving a lot of the changes we are looking to make, but we still care about all of our clients,” he said.
“We know many clients, including the ones at Westfort have been with us for many years and we look to continue to serve them even though there are more digital channels.”
There have been no job losses as a result of the two branches closing, and the 10 staff members at the Westfort branch will be transferred to the new branch on Arthur Street.
According to Simon, RBC will continue to support the Westfort community through volunteer efforts and donations. An RBC ATM will also be set up in Westfort Foods on Monday.
The RBC branch was seen by the business community as an essential service in the neighbourhood, according to Jack Moro, owner of JB Evans and member of the Westfort Village Association.
“Any business in our area closing is going to be a concern for any of our establishments,” he said. “The bank is a major draw, they do a lot of business.”
Moro said the announcement that the branch was closing came as a surprise, but he added that he understands RBC’s situation and is grateful for its years of service.
“RBC has been a tremendous community business for us,” he said. “They have been a great corporate citizen in our area and we appreciate them.”
For those who regularly do their banking in Westfort, seeing the last bank in the neighbourhood shut its doors is a little worrisome.
“It’s our own community,” Fedun said. “We are losing part of that.”
Fedun’s son, Gary, said it was easy for him to take his mother to the bank in Westfort because there was a lot of available parking, and it was easily accessible, which was very convenient for seniors in the area.
“And since she lived in Westfort all of her life pretty well, it’s been a real community thing and I think it’s going to be really missed by the people,” he said.
MacKay added that he was angry when he learned the branch was closing and he worries what the closure will mean for other businesses in the area.
“You cash your cheque here, you spend your money here,” MacKay said. “If you cash your cheque over there [Arthur Street branch], then you’re not going to come here, you’re going to go to Safeway or Metro.”
Moro said business owners are always worried about losing a part of the community, but he is confident that the Westfort Village will continue to thrive.
“We are going to try to find someone to fill that void,” he said. “Not necessarily a bank, we know that that probably isn’t going to happen, but maybe a business to take over that corner. We know the people in this area have a vested interest in this area, they believe in it, and we are going to keep working toward that.”
