Deciding to close the branches in late March was a pretty easy decision for banks as nothing was more paramount to public safety; since then it has become more complicated for banks to decide when and how to re-open their branches; American Banker takes a look how BBVA USA, who has 637 branches in the South and West, and Rockland Trust, who has 96 branches in the Northeast, use data to determine what branches open; BBVA created a ready to open score that combines internal and external factors in determining the branch’s readiness to open; “We didn’t want to say, ‘I have a feeling’ that a branch is ready to open,” Adrian Serna, the Physical Channels Strategy Manager for Branches and ATMs at BBVA USA, said to American Banker. “It’s a better message to our customers and our employees that this is not a feeling-based decision, it’s a data-based decision. And it’s not final — if a branch can’t open because of a specific situation, we’re not opening.”; Rockland took a slow and steady approach to opening, testing some branch lobbies to ensure all protocols were being met in a safe way; “Geography was key,” said Patrick Myron, SVP of Retail Network Strategy and Sales Analytics at Rockland, to American Banker. “We wanted to make sure that as we reopened, our branches were spread out enough so all our customers could get to a branch without having to go completely out of their way.” American Banker.
