Last bank in the East End moving out

Nick Seebruch
Last bank in the East End moving out
The RBC in the Eastcourt Mall on Second Street (Nick Seebruch/ TC Media).

CORNWALL, Ontario – In an announcement made this week, the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) branch at the Eastcourt Mall on Second St. will be moving out at the beginning of 2018.

The bank made the announcement on Sept. 11 and started mailing notices to branch customers that the branch would be moving as of Jan. 19, 2018 to Cornwall’s main RBC branch site on Pitt St.

The consolidation of the two branches will not result in any lost jobs according to Sylvie Perreault, the Branch Manager at the Second St. site.

RBC did address concerns regarding the move in an email to Seaway News.

“We recognize that this may cause some inconvenience to our clients and employees and appreciate your questions in regards to this,” wrote Mike Belliveau, Regional Vice President, Eastern Ontario. “To answer, what will happen to the patrons; all accounts will be automatically transferred to the Cornwall Main branch and account numbers and cheques will not change.”

Belliveau went on to address concerns about what clients who do not have online bank accounts should do now that their branch is further away.

“To answer, If they don’t have online banking where should they go,” he said. “We plan on hosting Advice Events that will support clients with options that they have, beyond this we encourage all clients to come in to see an advisor so that we can address their unique needs and concerns on a one to one basis.”

Belliveau stated that the bank made the decision in response to the evolving market.

“Decisions like these are made after careful consideration of how we can best serve our clients in the market,” he said. “Over the years, as consumer banking habits have evolved, we’ve evolved how we show up in the community.”

He went on to say that RBC will continue to maintain a presence in Cornwall and will continue to support local events such as the Olympic Torch Run and the RBC Cup.

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