Popular Bank Implements Branch Realignment in the New York Metro Region to Enhance Focus on Communities and Small Business Support

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[{"type":"text","content":" SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nPopular, Inc. (“Popular”) (NASDAQ: BPOP), bank holding company of Popular Bank, today announced Popular Bank’s strategic realignment of its New York Metro branch network. As part of the realignment, select branches of Popular Bank will be consolidated, resulting in 11 branch closures.\n\nPopular Bank conducted a detailed review and analysis of its current network, including its usage, proximity to additional Popular Bank branches, the needs of customers and accessibility to supplemental services. The branch closures, which are expected to be completed simultaneously by January 29, 2021, are projected to reduce annual operating expenses by approximately $13 million.\n\n“Popular is committed to meeting the needs of our customers and communities, guided by our 127-year legacy. This realignment in our New York Metro market is consistent with our small business and retail services model in South Florida,” said Popular, Inc. President and CEO Ignacio Alvarez. “We are confident that this repositioning will improve the performance of Popular Bank as we continue to meet the growing and diverse needs of our customers, employees and communities throughout our markets.”\n\nThis realignment aims to better leverage resources to support small businesses, meet changing customer needs and reinvest in communities. To this end, it focuses resources on remaining branch locations to pursue local opportunities and deliver banking services and solutions to meet the unique needs of the communities. This initiative will also enable ongoing investments in digital capabilities as Popular Bank continues to meet rising customer adoption of digital service channels. Popular Bank will also bolster and enhance products and services to meet the needs of its consumers and small businesses, including the addition of business bankers to remaining branches to meet commercial and small business banking demand.\n\n“Popular Bank is optimizing its resources to better support the changing customer experience and enhance our offering to consumers and small businesses. Our branch network will continue to play a critical role as we focus resources towards local opportunities and community reinvestment,” said Popular Bank Chief Operating Officer Manuel Chinea. “Over the last several years we have also been working very closely with...

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