Banking shuffle picks up pace

With all the fuss about Internet banking being the wave of the future, there’s sure a lot of interest in good old-fashioned bricks and mortar in Northern Colorado.

Sparked by an unprecedented economic boom and relatively low interest rates, banks are merging, building new headquarters, opening new branches and generally getting ready for a new rough-and-tumble economy as the barriers come down between investment, banking and insurance companies.

The biggest news, of course, centers on Wells Fargo’s purchase of Norwest and a subsequent purchase of seven First Choice Banks in Fort Collins, Loveland, Windsor and Greeley. The new company, which will have 120 banks statewide, will be known under the Wells Fargo name.

“The name has a history in the West going back to 1872,´ said Ken Zelie, Northern Colorado regional manager. “We didn’t want to give that up.”

The move will give Wells Fargo four additions and three consolidations. In Fort Collins, Wells Fargo will keep the location at 3600 S. College Ave., but will close the First Choice downtown location at 100 S. College Ave. and merge its operations with the Wells Fargo bank at 401 S. College Ave.

In Loveland, Wells Fargo will close the First Choice Bank at 2529 N. Lincoln and consolidate operations with the location at 3710 N. Grant.

In Greeley, Wells Fargo will have branches at 5801 W. 11th St. and at 2164 35th Ave. However, Zelie said the company would close the First Choice bank at 1229 10th Ave. In Windsor, Wells Fargo will pick up the 1069 West Main St. location previously owned by First Choice.

“It’s a great fit for us in terms of market share,´ said Zelie. “Our cultures were very similar.”

Zelie said Wells Fargo is not through yet. He referred to a “potential location” in Fort Collins as well as other spots from Boulder north where Wells Fargo has no presence. That includes two possible locations in Longmont.

Two other banks have expansion plans in Fort Collins as well — U.S. Bank and Norlarco Credit Union.

U.S. Bank spokeswoman Liz Fiola said the company plans to open a new branch at the northeast corner of Drake Road and Shields Street. The branch will encompass 4,200 square feet and employ between 10 and 12 people. The bank also has opened small, in-store branches in King Soopers grocery stores in Fort Collins and Loveland.

Chuck Mabry, president and CEO of Norlarco Credit Union, says it’s time for the company to expand its headquarters at 2545 Research Blvd. The plan is to consolidate the headquarters with the branch bank there, then build a new branch bank nearby.

“We have a replacement branch already underway,´ said Mabry. “It’ll be 4,000 to 4,500 square feet, it’ll have four drive-up lanes and a drive-up ATM.”

Mabry said he hoped Norlarco would be in its new branch by June 2001. The credit union may construct additional branches in two or three years.

Another active player in Northern Colorado is Eaton Bank, recently renamed Centennial Bank of the West. President Bill Farr has launched an ambitious round of expansion that includes a 6,500 square-foot branch at 1550 E. Harmony Road in Fort Collins, and a 11,400 square-foot building near the interchange of Interstate 25 and State Highway 392. Construction is due to begin in August, and Farr says it will be completed by April 2001.

Firstbank in Greeley is poised to build its first branch bank in Greeley after buying a site near the Greeley Country Club. Bank president Jim Davis said the branch will be 5,000 square feet and house 12 employees.

“We wanted the second bank from a location standpoint,´ said Davis. “Right now we are in the southern part of town. This will give us a presence in the northwest part of town.”

Berthoud National Bank, the bank that has the oldest charter in Northern Colorado, finally had to move out of the 310 Mountain Ave. location it has occupied for 107 years.

“It just wasn’t working anymore,´ said spokeswoman Sara Hilzer. “They were really packed in there.”

The bank moved west to it’s a new 8,800-square-foot facility at 807 Mountain Ave. in Berthoud and closed a small branch operation it had in the Toddy’s Market there.

In Loveland, the independent American Bank opened its second branch May 15 in a brand-new, 20,000-square-foot building at 2695 West Eisenhower. Marketing director Amy Madden said the new branch occupies 4,000 square feet of the structure, and the bank plans to lease the rest for office space.

Finally, Firstier Bank, headquartered in Northglenn, closed its old Loveland facility at 205 Eisenhower for a high profile spot at 5275 McWhinney Blvd. near the Prime Outlet malls and I-25.

“That’s the high-growth area for Loveland,´ said Nicole Pirit, Firstier’s marketing officer in Northglenn. “We felt we had to be out there.”

Pirit said the bank would occupy 5,500 square feet of the new building and lease the rest.

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