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Bridgehampton National Bank to close Cutchogue branch in February

Bridgehampton National Bank’s Cutchogue branch will be one of seven branches to close across Long Island in February. Cutchogue is the only North Fork branch closing.

BNB sent a letter to its customers saying that the last official day of business will be Feb. 16, 2018 and encouraged them to use the Mattituck branch on Main Road about four miles away. Account information will be transferred to Mattituck and would not be changed in any way, the letter said.

“As we’ve been tracking branch transactions, overall, all branch transactions are down because people are using mobile banking, online banking, bill pay and ATMs,” said James Manseau, the chief retail banking officer.

He added that most bank employees of the Cutchogue branch should be able to find positions at other BNB locations and he anticipates most of those employees being retained.

BNB has over 40 branches on Long Island and New York City. The letter also noted that the safety deposit boxes at the Cutchogue location would need to be emptied and a list of other branches was provided for customers.

“We still believe in branches, we just don’t need one in every town,” Mr. Manseau said. “It’s much more fun to open branches than to close them, but it’s a necessary evil due to the economics of branches today.”

Capital One is also closing down three branches this month. The downtown Riverhead location will close Nov. 17; the Main Road location in Southold will close Nov. 18, and the location on West Neck Road on Shelter Island will close Nov. 17.

“The need for the physical interaction on the daily basis is less than it used to be historically,” Mr. Manseau said.

BNB has locations in Riverhead, Mattituck, Southold and Greenport.

Photo caption: The Bridghampton National Bank branch in Cutchogue. (Credit: Rachel Siford)

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