UPDATE: BB&T in Shen., Mt. Carmel to close July 20
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - BB&T's Shenandoah branch is seen on North Main Street on April 11, 2021.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated at 8:00pm Monday, April 12, with information on the closure of the Mount Carmel branch.
SHENANDOAH – Another bank in town is closing, BB&T told its customers in a letter dated April 9.
BB&T plans to close its branch at 5 North Main Street at noon on Tuesday, July 20.
Dale Elliott, retail region leader for the chain, briefed customers about the closing in a letter obtained by the Sentinel.
“Rest assured, you’ll continue to receive the personal care you’ve come to expect from BB&T and experienced teammates are available to serve you at the Pottsville branch at 9 North Centre Street,” Elliott wrote to customers.
The bank is the second chain in a year and a half to close their Shenandoah location in favor of a Pottsville location. The same happened last year, when Santander closed their bank at 2 North Main Street, merging it with their Pottsville location.
The Pottsville BB&T location is a 12 mile, 25 minute drive from Shenandoah’s.
“As a valued client, you’re our top priority and we’re committed to making this transition as smooth as possible,” Elliott added.
With the closure, Shenandoah will have only two banks left in town — M&T on the southwest corner of Main and Centre, the last at the principal intersection, and First National at Main and Lloyd.
According to FDIC data, the Shenandoah branch originally opened as a branch of First Federal Savings and Loan, Hazleton, which merged with Keystone Nazareth Bank and Trust (KNBT) in 2005, becoming a location of that bank. Three years later, KNBT merged with National Penn, but remained a KNBT location for a few years, becoming National Penn shortly before BB&T merged with that bank in 2016.
BB&T has been on a bank closing spree over the past several years, closing their branches in Kulpmont and Ashland in 2018. At the time, the branch was the only bank in Kulpmont.
Those two branches merged into Mount Carmel’s branch, which is now also closing, according to another letter to that branch’s customers, obtained by the Sentinel.
The letter, also dated April 9 and signed by Elliott, provides the same information as the Shenandoah letter, with the exception that Mount Carmel’s branch at 109 North Oak Street is merging into the Shamokin West branch at 521 North Second Street.
That branch is about nine miles and 20 minutes away from the Mount Carmel branch, and 14 miles and the same time away from the former Ashland BB&T.
The Mount Carmel branch is also closing at noon on Tuesday, July 20.
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