Wells Fargo closes Manson branch

MANSON -- Wells Fargo's District Manager for North Central Washington Agustin Reyes, said the Manson branch of the San Francisco-based bank is closing Wednesday, July 12.
"We notified the employees in late March and a letter was sent to customers in early April," he said.
Reyes, in an exclusive interview with NCW Media, said the closing was part of evaluating and consolidating the company's branch network. "The Manson branch customers can still look forward to banking at the Chelan Wells Fargo branch where they will recognize familiar faces" as three former Manson employees will be transferring to the Chelan office, according to Reyes.
A total of five staffers will be affected by the closure with the current branch manager, John Freeze, transferring to Seattle and another worker going to the Wenatchee branch, according to Reyes.
Reyes said there wasn't "one reason" for the closure, but a combination of several reasons, which included "customer patronage, cost to maintain and marketing distribution."
"We will continue being a part of the Manson community by participating in local events and donating to non-profit organizations," Reyes said.
There are no plans to leave an ATM machine in Manson, but Reyes pointed out it was only a seven mile drive to the Chelan branch from Manson.
Nationwide, the bank recently announced a reduction in annual expenses by about $2 billion by the end of 2018, with those savings reinvested into customer service, risk management, cyber security and other initiatives, according to a recent bank news release.