First Midwest Bank announces which suburban branches will close
First Midwest Bank announced the locations of the 19 branches it plans to close before the end of the year.
The company said last month that it would close the locations across northern Illinois and northwest Indiana over the next six months in response to customers' preference for banking online. Experts say it follows a national trend of consumers increasingly opting for digital banking.
First Midwest, which recently moved its headquarters from Itasca to Chicago's O'Hare corridor, outlined the cost-cutting initiative last month, but didn't reveal the locations of the branches that would close.
These are the banks that will close.
In suburban Cook County, two branches in Arlington Heights, at 1434 N. Rand Road and 1104 S. Arlington Heights Road, are closing as well as locations in Calumet City, Park Forest and Matteson. And in Chicago, locations at 1 E. Erie St. and at Thorek Memorial Hospital, 836 W. Irving Park Road, are closing.
In other suburbs, banks will close in Naperville, 1607 N. Aurora Road; Waukegan, 4000 N. Point Blvd.; Crystal Lake, 170 North Route 31 and Crest Hill.
Other Illinois closures include two in LaSalle County and one of two locations in Moline.
And in northwest Indiana, branches in Gary, East Chicago, Lowell and Chesterton are closing.
The closures, which represent 15 percent of First Midwest's branches, will leave the bank with 110 locations. First Midwest said the closures, combined with changes to its business model, will lead to a loss of 7 percent of its workforce. The bank said that about half of those job cuts are expected to come through natural attrition.
"As our clients' preferences and industry continue to evolve amid technological and digital advancement, it is incumbent upon us to align our business and resources to provide our clients with the superior experience they have come to expect from First Midwest, solidifying our competitive advantage," said Michael L. Scudder, First Midwest Bank president and CEO.