Mergers and acquisitions by financial institutions had ripple effects, including layoffs, branch closures and office shuffling.
On the money: Richmond area banking news recap for 2021
Banking
Essex Bank branches now United Bank
The deal to acquire the Henrico-based bank, which has $1.7 billion in assets and nearly two dozen locations, was completed Friday.
TowneBank wants to take over former BB&T branch in Short Pump
The $16 billion Hampton Roads-based bank has applied for permission to operate at 11704 W. Broad St.
Essex Bank laying off dozens as part of merger with United Bank
Those being laid off include the Henrico-based bank’s CFO, COO and other upper-level executives, in addition to back office positions.
Banking giant Wells Fargo closes West Broad Village branch
Despite its Short Pump location, the branch was among the bank’s smallest branches in the region in terms of deposits.
Chase Bank, other newcomers make presence felt in local deposit market
The big three — Bank of America, Truist and Wells Fargo — maintained their control of more than three quarters of the region’s $57 billion in deposits.
Two groups vie for old BofA branch on Brookland Park Blvd.
One group wants to convert the former Highland Park bank building at Six Points into a restaurant and farmers market, while the other imagines a community health resource center and pharmacy.
Strasburg-based First Bank cashes in on competitor’s Richmond exit
SmartBank, which acquired an office in Innsbrook and a team of local bankers through a recent acquisition, announced last week it is eliminating those operations in the Richmond region and selling them off.
Jackson Ward bank branch rebranded after acquisition by Peoples Bank
The merger with Premier Bank created a $7 billion regional bank with 136 locations in Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
Bank of America closing Forest Hill Avenue branch permanently
Foot traffic at the bank’s only location on the city’s Southside began falling before the pandemic and it has been shuttered since it began.