Webster Bank To Close Nine Branches

WATERBURY (AP) — Acquisitions by Webster Bank have burdened it with too many branches, forcing it to pare back a bit, bank officials say.

The Waterbury-based bank announced Friday it will close nine branches in Connecticut in June and consolidate operations into nearby offices.

The bank will not ax any of its 2,200 employees who will be reassigned to other Webster Bank locations, officials said.

Peter Mulligan, senior vice president of retail banking at Webster, said the cutbacks are due to the bank’s expansion.

“Over the past 10 years, Webster has experienced considerable growth through acquisitions of several Connecticut community banks,” he said. “The result is that the Webster branch network is highly concentrated and several branches in local markets serve the same customers and, in most cases, are less than a mile or two from each other.”

Webster Financial Corp., parent company of Webster Bank, last year acquired all Hartford-based Mechanics Savings Bank branches, four branch offices from FleetBoston Financial, and six from Chase Manhattan Bank.

Webster Financial Corp. announced Thursday it acquired Farmington-based Center Capital Corp., a privately held firm that finances commercial and industrial sales and leasing programs nationwide.

Offices to be closed June 8 are in Danbury, East Hartford, Ellington, Enfield, Hartford, Newington, New Britain, Wethersfield, and Windsor Locks. Each of the areas already is served by more than one branch.