- Target:
- Bank of the West Corporate & Division of Finance & Corporate Securities
- Region:
- GLOBAL
Bank of the West has scheduled to close its Yachats branch (along with approximately 14 others) this coming January. This would leave our small but thriving rural coastal village without a bank, as this is the sole bank in town. There are many small businesses that rely on the bank for their survival and growth.
This is a diverse and active community made up of Artists, Scientists, Health Practitioners, Entrepreneurs and many others. It is a rural community with only one route in and out, limited cell and internet services, severe storms & weather conditions limiting travel and occasional power outages. We are approximately 25 miles away from Newport (where Bank of the West wants to transfer our accounts) Many of our population are elderly, disabled or do not travel outside of Yachats for a variety of reasons. Even Waldport, which approximately 8 miles away, is a long distance for many of them.
Besides our residents (full and part time) and business owners we are a popular destination for tourists, regular visitors and cyclists from all over the world that also need dependable banking services while they are here. Making them travel to another town to bank might encourage them to take their money there all together or decide to stay someplace else that is more convenient and would potentially hurt many of our businesses here.
Another important facet to this bank being such an integral part of our community is it's incredible employees. They go above and beyond to provide not only the best customer service possible but genuinely care about their customers and this community and they make banking something we actually look forward to. Currently, if this branch closes they will all lose their jobs.
Losing our bank will limit our ability to grow and thrive as a community and will be a severe hardship to many.
Please join us in urging Bank of the West to reconsider closure of this branch or to postpone closure long enough for us to find another bank/ credit union to take over and for these employees to retain their positions with either solution.
We are requesting that Bank of the West either:
a) Reconsider closing the Yachats branch or
b) postpone the closure long enough to allow us time to find a bank/credit union that will take over this location.
Losing our only bank would be a tremendous hardship to our thriving rural community. This would affect our residents (full time & part time), our many business owners and visitors. This would also have a adverse effect on our communities potential to grow.
We also want to assure that the current employees retain their positions. It is because of them our bank is exceptional.
Please sign our petition, Pass it on and help our community retain its only bank & its employees.
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it
The Help Yachats retain its Only Bank & Exceptional Employees petition to Bank of the West Corporate & Division of Finance & Corporate Securities was written by zeora sage and is in the category Business at GoPetition.