Some residents in Turner Valley are speaking out after learning the town's only bank will shut its doors and relocate to Okotoks in seven months.
Some residents in Turner Valley are speaking out after learning the town's only bank will shut its doors and relocate to Okotoks in seven months.
The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) sent letters to its clients in late April informing them the branch will relocate to Southbank Boulevard in Okotoks in early December due to a reduction in foot traffic at the Turner Valley branch.
“It's a disaster for the whole community because if the bank closes and people allow their accounts to be shifted then they are going to do more of their business in Okotoks instead of locally,” said Turner Valley-area resident Muriel Dais. “I find it absolutely appalling that the Royal Bank can declare that it has x million dollars in funds and then they can turn around and do this to a community.”
News of the closure has sparked debate on social media, including the possibility of a petition.
The Turner Valley branch will close its doors at noon on Dec. 1, said Mark Brown, RBC's regional vice-president of the Alberta South.
“After careful consideration we've made the difficult decision to relocate our Turner Valley branch to a new location in Okotoks,” he said. “Decisions like this are never easy, nor made lightly, and we recognize this is a big change.”
Brown said there will be no layoffs as a result of the relocation and that “the branch team our clients know so well will continue to be a big part of how we deliver advice to clients in the area.”
RBC’s intention, he said, is to maintain a presence in Turner Valley through financial services, employee volunteerism and other initiatives and that its mobile banking team will meet with clients where convenient, such as in their homes.
“We are connecting with clients to ensure they know about the number of solutions available to meet their unique needs,” he said.
Brown said the closure is the result of evolving banking habits, with 89 per cent of its Turner Valley customers banking online, on the phone and at ATM machines, resulting in is a reduction in foot traffic.
Dais said she is not part of this banking evolution.
“I happen to be somebody who is not very computer literate and I’m in my 80s,” she said. “There are some things you can’t do at the ATM.”
Dais, who joined the RBC after moving to the community in 1988, said she prefers the tellers.
“The tellers in Turner Valley that are just outstanding,” she said. “They know us by name, they know our families, they know what we do, they’re genuinely concerned about how we are. It’s a pleasure to go into the bank and do business with the tellers. The tellers have established this friendship with the clients.”
Dais said she doesn’t want to be have to make frequent trips to Okotoks, which she currently visits once or twice a month in warmer months and not at all in the winter.
Turner Valley Mayor Kelly Tuck, also an RBC client, said she sees the closure as a loss to the community.
“It’s sad because they have been in our area for 88 years and they’re the only bank in the community,” she said. “My concern is our seniors not being able to do their banking.”
The absence of the bank will also have an impact on Tuck personally, who enjoys doing her banking business face to face with the Turner Valley tellers.
“It’s my social time,” she said. “You see and connect with the people that work at the branch.”
According to information sent to clients, RBC is hosting a community information session at the Royal Canadian Legion Turner Valley Branch #78 on June 19 at 7 p.m. to allow clients to express their views and discuss concerns with respect to the branch relocation.
Options will be explored regarding the building itself, which is owned by RBC, and maintaining an ATM in the community, Brown said.
“We cannot speak to specifics at this time but will certainly inform our clients and the community as soon as we’re able,” he said.
The new branch at the Southbank Boulevard location is slated to open Dec. 4.
