By Simon Hopkins
Scotiabank announced on Oct. 31 that its century-old Westboro branch will close next summer.
The bank has chosen to consolidate multiple banks in the Ottawa area, with the Westboro closure coming into effect on July 9, 2024. Customers of the branch located on Richmond Road near Churchill Avenue will be transferred to the bank’s location at Hampton Park Plaza on Carling Avenue.
“After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to close our Scotiabank branch at 388 Richmond Road,” said Scotiabank spokesperson Natalie Yuen in an emailed statement to the Kitchissippi Times. “We are directly notifying customers who are impacted by this change.”
The bank has been a staple on Richmond Road since 1912.
Scotiabank has slowly decreased the number of its physical branch locations over the last five years, according to the bank’s 2022 annual report. Many of the bank’s locations are leased, and year after year, it has worked to consolidate some of its contract and real estate costs. In October 2023, Scotiabank announced a multi-million-dollar consolidation of its property costs.
Much of the consolidation has impacted and shrunk Scotiabank’s international locations, according to the annual report, but the bank is slowly consolidating Canadian locations too. The cuts will result in about 2,700 jobs lost.
Many bank customers primarily use online banking tools, decreasing the use of physical bank locations nationwide. “We are continuing to evolve how we serve our customers and invest in areas that make it easier for our customers to bank with us from wherever they are,” said Yeun.
As customer preferences shift, Scotiabank is shifting its spending accordingly. While Scotiabank still earned over $2 billion in the third quarter of 2023, it was over $350 million less than the year previous, according to the bank’s quarterly report.
Though the next closest branch isn’t far, the inconvenience annoys some customers.
“It’s too bad,” said Nina Gordon, a customer of the Westboro branch. “What can you do?” she said with a shrug. “I’m sorry it’s closing; it was so convenient.”
The ATMs will close at 8:00 am on July 9, and the branch will close at 11 am. Customers with concerns are encouraged to call the branch manager.
Another Scotiabank location at 5677 Osgoode Main Street will also be closing and relocating its services to 300 Colonnade Drive in Kemptville on July 11, 2024.