Community Bank & Trust closing 2 branches in Commerce

The branch at Bell’s in Jefferson will close Oct. 19. Lloyd said there may be two job losses because two employees there have not applied (so far) for other jobs in the company.

“We are allowing those folks to post for positions elsewhere,” Lloyd said. “All of them found other positions.”

“At one point, we were trying to be more convenient (by putting branches in grocery stores),” Lloyd said, “But with technology changing, we feel like we can be competitive in other ways.”

Market president Jeff Fulp noted that six of the eight supermarket branches being closed in the region are within two miles of a full-service Community Bank & Trust office. In addition, he said, not all of the supermarket banks have loan officers or mortgage loan originators and only one offers safe deposit boxes.

He estimated that the organization currently has “about 16” supermarket branches. Some of those, including the office in the Walmart at Banks Crossing — one of the busiest in the company, according to Fulp — will remain open.

“Essentially, we made a decision to consolidate some of our offices in various markets,” Fulp said. “The primary driver was to run a more efficient operation and provide enhanced service in the remaining offices.”
The supermarket branches were all open six days a week and offered extended hours. They required staffs of 4-6 people.

Community Bank & Trust is extending hours at its main offices, opening them Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon and extending drive-through hours in all locations by one hour, to 6 p.m. on weekdays and to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. It is also building three more drive-through lanes at the Commerce office.