Merged U.S. Bank May Close 44 Branches Washington, California And Idaho Will Share 34 Closures, But Officials Won’t Be More Specific

First Bank System Inc. of Minneapolis may close 44 branches of Portland-based U.S. Bancorp after completing its $8.8 billion acquisition of the Oregon company in about three weeks.

A list obtained by The Portland Oregonian included 10 branches in Oregon, and 34 in Washington, California and Idaho. The closures would shrink U.S. Bancorp’s network of 656 branches by about 7 percent.

“We confirm the list is accurate,” U.S. Bancorp spokeswoman Tina Foster told the newspaper.

But she stressed no final decision would be made until the company evaluates community impact. “The list is a living document, changing all the time,” she said.

Another spokeswoman, Cindy Duryea, said the list was not developed in response to the merger, which combines banks with branch systems that do not overlap.

U.S. Bank constantly reassesses the value of maintaining a branch based on its profitability, growth potential, and lease conditions, she said.

Between 15 and 20 have been closed in recent years, she said, while new ones have opened in venues like supermarkets.

“There are a lot of things that need to be looked at before any final decisions are made,” Duryea said.

Other sources told The Oregonian that 64 branch managers in the Portland area would have to compete for 13 new market manager positions under the proposed restructuring. Those managers would oversee a half-dozen branches apiece.

Each branch now has two managers - a branch manager and customer service manager. Foster said those jobs would be merged, creating one full-time branch manager with narrower responsibilities.

The change will remove the branch manager from the traditional role of advocate for loan applicants. When seeking loans after the merger, customers will deal with a branch sales representative, who will prepare papers and forward them to the bank’s loan center, Foster said.

The role of customer advocate will fall to sales representatives and sales managers, who will be assigned to cover several branches.

Branch managers are now responsible for service and sales, including new accounts, loans and other banking products. They earn $40,000 to $60,000 a year.

The revamping of branches fits into First Bank’s plans to cut $340 million in expenses after the planned merger, which will be completed Aug. 1 if shareholders approve at a meeting July 31. The Minnesota bank plans to cut 4,000 jobs, including more than 2,000 in the Portland area.

Employees losing their jobs will be offered severance of a month’s pay for each year of service, up to as much as two years’ salary. But employees aren’t eligible if they are offered jobs within 30 miles of their present jobs and their pay is at least 90 percent of their present salary.

Ben Crabtree, an analyst for Dain Bosworth Inc. in Minneapolis, said the proposed changes would help First Bank meet its goal of reaching an industry low of paying 40 cents to 43 cents for every dollar of revenue earned. U.S. Bancorp spends about 54 cents for each dollar of revenue.

“First Bank has to cut costs a lot to hit its target. But it’s done this kind of thing before in other mergers,” Crabtree said.

, DataTimes