FRANKLIN
SunTrust Bank recently announced it will close its Franklin branch, located at 117 W. Second Avenue, on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at noon. According to Hugh Suhr, a spokesperson for SunTrust, the decision to close the Franklin branch was made after careful study and analysis of a variety of factors, including market growth, real estate arrangements and transaction volumes.

The bank is in the process of notifying its clients, and will transfer all Franklin-based accounts to its Suffolk branch, located at 123 N. Main St., by the February deadline, and will also work with clients who prefer to transfer their accounts to a different location.

According to a letter from Brian Phelps, SunTrust’s area manager, the Suffolk bank will provide the same services as the Franklin branch, including ATMs, telephone banking and 24-hour delivery channels such as online and mobile banking.

“SunTrust, like all banking companies, must constantly refine its branch network to meet the changing needs and transaction patters of clients as well as taking into account their increasing usage of newer delivery channels such as Internet banking and mobile banking,” Suhr said. “The opening and closing of branches is a natural part of ensuring that SunTrust is able to maximize its market opportunities and meet the needs of its clients in an efficient and effective manner.”

In the letter to clients, Phelps said that clients with safe deposit boxes stored at the Franklin branch will receive detailed information from the bank on how to transfer contents within approximately 30 days.