Chilmark branch of Santander Bank will close May 29.
Mark Alan Lovewell

Santander Bank Plans to Close Chilmark Branch

Santander Bank will be closing its branch on South Road in Chilmark at the end of May. A spokeswoman for the company told the Gazette Tuesday that the decision to close the up-Island branch came after a regular review of branches and customer patterns.

Santander Bank will be closing its branch on South Road in Chilmark at the end of May.

A spokeswoman for the company told the Gazette Tuesday that the decision to close the up-Island branch came after a regular review of branches and customer patterns.

“As a result, we make changes to ensure that we are meeting customer needs while considering how and where we have opportunities to make investments to grow our business,” the spokeswoman said in a statement.

The branch will close on May 29, and the company will be selling the building located at 517 South Road.

Customers were sent letters about the bank closure on Feb. 27.

The spokeswoman said the bank would not release how many people work at the Chilmark branch, but said they will do their best to offer employees in good standing a comparable position within a reasonable distance. Those not able to find relocated positions will be offered severance packages.

Santander, a global bank that formerly did business in the United States as Sovereign, has four other branches on the Island; two branches in Edgartown, one in Oak Bluffs and one in Vineyard Haven. Chilmark branch customers will be assigned to a new branch and can use any of the other Santander branches, the spokeswoman said.

Comments

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 03/10/2015 - 15:50

Permalink

Helen Neumann Chilmark

OH NO.. i have been banking at this branch for over 35 years.... I had a photography show scheduled for August.. This was a true local community bank, and I am really sorry to see it go. PS.. I will be closing my accounts with Santander now, and changing over to the MV Savings bank Chilmark branch..

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 03/10/2015 - 17:22

Permalink

June Manning Aquinnah

Nice place for the Chilmark Fire Department to expand to. As part of Community Reinvestment Act, the bank should donate the property to the Town of Chilmark. Just saying !

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 03/11/2015 - 16:11

Permalink

tom hodgson wt

Nice place for some affordable housing in a village center.

Add new comment

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.