Citizens Bank Lobby closing: ye, Schwartz Giveth, Morse taketh away....again
 

I just received this week that the Citizens Bank on Avenida is closing down its lobby, effective October 25th. Drive through will remain open. Another Morse decision to remove as many amenities as possible in the Lady Lake area, and build up in Sumter...guess he is following the money.

lost here...following whose money?

Not sure why you feel this way. There are many Citizens banks around, this isn't the only one. Sadly for some, many banks have few physical buildings....with so many services available online, ATM cards for making deposits and withdrawals, making deposits with one's computer or smart phone, there is less need to actually go into a bank. Social Security checks, pension checks, retirement checks, etc, are or can be automatically deposited. Loans can be secured online, also. If that particular bank has less activity than others, it probably isn't worth the financial loss to keep it open....true for this bank and other banks, too.

Consider the possibility that volume is down at that branch and there are several other options within a very short distance. Criticize him for "the wall" if you will but not for what is probably a very logical business decision. Either love the guy or hate him. Put me somewhere in the middle based on the facts.

Normally I am never physically inside of a bank. On Friday, I had the occasion to enter a bank here in the villages 3 times in the same day. Two of those times, I was the ONLY one in there. One time, there was ONE other person there. So...I believe that quite possibly, lobby's are not needed much anymore.

Too bad. This was the first Citizens bank that I dealt with. It is the only one in the middle of town. It was probably the first Citizens bank in TV. You would think they would keep it just as a nostalgia thing.

Z

don't know how much $ can be made on a nostalgic citizen's bank - but the parking sure was a lot easier at that location than the one in town.

and, pooh, re on-line banking - after the stock mkt shut down because of possible hacking - can one really trust anything that electronic? sure the institution will make accts whole - but who knows who can grab your confidential info.

i love asking cashiers anywhere if they still accept cash! ;)

Just good business, nothing more , nothing less.

We never go inside the bank unless it's for something unusual. We use Drive-Thru, ATM, direct deposit of income, and internet banking.

Now if the postal service would build drive-thru windows and ATM vending machines to drive up to, they'd be up to the 20th century.

At the post office across from Spanish Springs, people stand in a long, SLOW line just to hand the clerk an outgoing letter already stamped, when there is a drop box right outside the front door they could have dropped it in.....while people who need to buy something at the counter stand behind them in line. The whole thing is stagecoach era.

And now there is talk of closing the Tierre Del Sol restaurant. By my count, if that closes, that will be the fifth restaurant to close in the original Villages.

Z, the branch that is closing the lobby is the one at Avenida Central, not the one on Main Street in the center of town. I thnk the closing relates more to having two locations so close together.

And they are only closing the lobby. The drive-through is still open so you can still talk to a person, albeit via microphone/speaker.

Based on my last visit there for breakfast about 2 months ago I won't miss them. It takes good food, service and reasonable prices to bring in customers.

I don't get it. What would the Morse family have to do with the closing of a bank branch. Don't the banks that are on Villages property simply rent the space from the developer?
And how would a bank lobby in Lady Lake affect anything in the newer area?
I would bet that this was a decision made by Citizens Bank without any input from the developer.

i very rarely go into a bank most is done online

somebody who knows step up? I thought this bank was owned by developer.

How about if they own it!

Same here. In fact, I just refinanced my house online. Only reason I had to leave the house was to get a notary, which wasn't at a bank either.

http://www.ffiec.gov/nicpubweb/NICDa...5_20130630.PDF

Villages Bancorporation, Inc. in The Villages FL - Company Profile

Notice of Change in Control of a Bank Holding Company

From the Daily Sun

H. Gary Morse (The Villages, Florida), H. Gary Morse Family Trust (The Villages, Florida), Mark G. Morse (The Villages, Florida), Mark G. Morse Family Trust (The Villages, Florida), Jennifer L. Parr (The Villages, Florida), Jennifer L. Parr Family Trust (The Villages, Florida), Tracy L. Mathews (The Villages, Florida), and Tracy L. Mathews Family Trust (The Villages, Florida), intend to apply to the Federal Reserve Board for permission to acquire up to 100% of the shares and thereby control of Villages Bancorporation, Inc., whose main office is located at 1050 Lake Sumter Landing, The Villages, Florida 32162. Villages Bancorporation, Inc. controls Citizens First Bank, 1050 Lake Sumter Landing, The Villages, Florida 32162. The Federal Reserve considers a number of factors in deciding whether to approve the notice.
You are invited to submit comments in writing on this notice to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, 1000 Peachtree Street N.E., Atlanta, Georgia 30309-4470. The comment period will not end before September 10, 2013 and may be somewhat longer. The Federal Reserve's procedures for processing applications may be found at 12 C.F.R. Part 262.25.
To obtain a copy of the Federal Reserve Board’s procedures, or if you need more information about how to submit your comments on the notice, contact Chapelle Davis, Assistant Vice President at (404) 498-7278. The Federal Reserve will consider your comments and any request for a public meeting or formal hearing on the notice if they are received in writing by the Reserve Bank on or before the last day of the comment period.
#469917 August 21, 2013
Ad# 30751173 posted on Aug 21, 2013

Purely a business decision. The bank is not, and never was an amenity.

Not enough cutomers coming in to warrant a lobby. With the drive through still open and an ATM it appears a non issue, lobby service is hardlly ever really needed and there are plenty of other locations with lobby service.

Why? His food is fabulous!!

citizens first bank
Citizens First Bank in The Villages FL - Company Profile
a subsidiary of villages bancorporation inc
Villages Bancorporation, Inc. in The Villages FL - Company Profile

To build up Sumter ......either you jest or are prejudiced or bitter (about something)..... Or whatever but oh so incorrect.
Your opinion and entitled......but not correct.

btk

Same with the restaurants:When we first moved to The Villages years ago the restaurant at the Santiago Club was standing room only. The developer then allowed the tenant to let this property fall into disrepair. So now its up to us residents to buy and maintain this building as another small rec. center/pool hall. If he, the developer did not want to be in the restaurant business he should not have built them in the first place.

But, of course, they were big selling points to future home site buyers. A restaurant/club house right across the street. Remember Chula Vista. Now El Santiago. Next Tierra Del Sol and then Havana.

Whoa. Here I am in defense of the developers...again. In the beginning they ran the restaurants and believe me they ran them well. It appears to be part of their earlier business plan to establish the business and then sell the established restaurant business to someone to run.

Just recently both The Lighthouse and Cane Garden were sold to the people that had managed them for some time. I hope they will continue to be successful. The Developer still owns and rents the physical buildings as I understand it. Havana, Evans Prarie and Bonifay were all rented to restaurant business tenants immediately on completion.

Why do some posters attribute so many failures to the Morses? Because they are rich? Because they are successful?

Why do so many people just out and out hate them? I don't know of a soul who has ever KNOWN any of them. There is a possibility they might be nice.

Gracie,

The answer to the naive comments about the Developers are most often because the posters have no concept of what it takes to run a succesful business. As for the haters it seems to me to be envy.

'Better to be silent and have people think you are a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt":spoken:

Com'on Boogie
 

You surely aren't so naive that you think the Citizens Banks are totally independent of the developer. :a040::a040:

It appears the developer has made a business decision. Having two banking locations so close together was not making sense, so he cut lobby services in the one with less foot traffic. BUT, he kept the drive-thru and ATM available for those who still want to bank at that location. Sounds reasonable to me.

With regard to restaurants, it appears the developer started off placing restaurants within neighborhoods. It also appears that patronage at those fell off after a while, so the emphasis switched to restaurants at the squares and at the championship courses, especially where they could be accessed without passing through a gate. Restaurants within TV are under great pressure to maintain services residents expect while keeping to the price point villagers demand. Not always possible.

A Possibility
 

Is it also a possibility at times they aren't so nice ??

It only made sense to close the Avineda branch. What I find amazing is some have more concern for the lack of convenience(you have to drive another half mile now) than about the people that just lost a job......

The Morse family runs a huge business with many layers. I doubt Mr Morse himself sits down and decides to close a bank lobby. The corporation has many layers and he pays a lot of people to make decisions that are good for his business.

In your typical corporation you would be correct, trust me on this one, he has the final say.

were they not offered positions at other locations of that bank?

Whether the Morses are nice or naughty is a highly subjective question, and one unlikely to elicit unanimity. What is without question is their unique ability to create a retirement community which people are virtually standing in line to buy into (1% of ALL new home sales in the COUNTRY in 2011 - unbelievable). They seem to be extraordinarily capable business people, and part of that business is to provide the residents of TV with a great lifestyle and services as they profit from every business in TV to a greater or lesser extent. I would have a hard time criticizing any business move they make, naughty or nice.

Tell us how you are privy to this info

Could that be because of all the restaurants on and N of 466?

Personally, I do not know the Morse family or much about them.

My only comment would be is, if Bank of America or Chase or any other bank closed one of its' branches, there would probably be a little grumbling but most would see it as a slight inconvenience.

Many would see it for what it is - a wise business decision.

What is wrong with that?

But what about the popcorn??? :)

Technology and convenience is fine and dandy
We use direct deposit, etc
But as my old man used to say:
'always have a contact in the bank so they get to know you. One never lnows when one needs a small favor"
I have not needed the favor, yet, but one can never say never.
Too much automation i think, is not great in an industry, like banking, where accuracy and privacy are so crucial. Technology is not infalible, neither are humans, but humans have the human touch.
My sis is a vp in pnc in pa. And she does lament about what is trending in the banking industry right now; more tech and a lot less personal servce?.. Alas!

And what might this be based on?