April KeyBank closure locks branch's doors

Tami Mason, branch supervisor at the local Washington Federal bank, heard at 7:45 a.m. Saturday, Jan 12 that the La Conner KeyBank will be closing April 12. Her comment last week was “It’s going to get busy. The line was out the door on Monday.”

Area residents with KeyBank accounts were mailed a notice dated Jan. 11 informing them “KeyBank will be consolidating your La Conner Branch into the Mt. Vernon Branch on April 12, 2019.”

Mayor Ramon Hayes heard about the closing secondhand Jan. 17. No one from KeyBank contacted him, or presumably any of the town administration.

Neither John Zadneprovskly, area retail leader – branch manager – or Laura Suter, communications manager for the Pacific and Rocky Mountain regions, would say much beyond their written statements. In an email to the Weekly News, Suter wrote:

“As any business does, KeyBank continually reviews the structure of its organization to maintain a strong position in the marketplace, to meet the specific needs of its clients and to achieve its business goals. … We take many factors into consideration when we decide to consolidate a branch, such as market opportunity and client traffic. … I cannot disclose details … .”

Suter’s response to Ginger Olson’s hope that “they leave an ATM at least,” was in the negative. Suter wrote, “There will not be a KeyBank ATM in La Conner.”

Olson earlier had said she will move her funds to Washington Federal, “but it’s the annoyance of having to shift everything.”

KeyBank branch teller Steve Carah, of Shelter Bay, admitted “It’s a big deal. Some people are pissed. They’re coming in saying they’ve been banking here for years” and now the bank is closing. Bank shutterings have lasting impacts. Long-time resident Bill Reynolds remembers Valley Bank’s closing at that location decades ago.

The KeyBank notice states their Mount Vernon branch is 7.5 miles away and list Anacortes and Burlington addresses for alternatives. The La Conner branch is at 708 East Morris Street.

Zadneprovskly did say that no one will lose their jobs, that the bank would try to accommodate transfers to local branches of staff’s choosing.

Mayor Hayes spoke to Suter, but she provided little information. He told the Weekly News “Obviously we don’t want businesses flowing away from town; we want them flowing in. We obviously want them to rethink their decision.” He cited Bank of America closing their First Street location as a parallel corporate level decision based on numbers, a lack of business volume meeting corporate criteria.

He said “it’s reflective of living in a smaller community. There are upsides to living in a town like La Conner. But there are also challenges.” He pointed out that the Town takes a small role in local economic development because of its limited resources.

Hayes noted, “When corporate decisions happen at that level it is hard to turn that ship around.”

The lights go off at the bank for the last time at 3 p.m. April 12.