Bank of America closing campus branch

Randy Metcalf Arizona Daily Wildcat Bank of America, at 1710 E. Speedway Blvd., will be closing early next year. The ATMs will remain at the location, a bank official said.

Bank of America's "Wildcat Express" branch, 1710 E. Speedway Blvd., is closing its doors and moving all customer accounts to a branch at 2885 N. Campbell Ave.

Dean Collins, a Bank of America public relations officer, said it was a "business decision."

"The traffic there is just not what it should be," Collins said yesterday from his office in Las Vegas. "It's the one that's not pulling its own weight."

The Automated Teller Machines that sit in the Speedway office will stay, and the bank plans to give the University of Arizona an opportunity to lease the vacated space, Collins said.

He also said the two Bank of America ATMs outside UA's Administration building will stay put.

While bank officials would not release any personnel information, they did say all employees at the University of Arizona-area branch will be offered positions at other offices.

"When we have a branch closure, we give them options to move to a new branch," Collins said.

Tammy Kulp, assistant manager at the Wildcat Express branch, yesterday refused comment as did other office employees.

Dave Howell, vice president of Bank of America, said the employees will be "absorbed" by other branches, which he said are prospering.

"We go through a process of making sure we're investing our resources in places we're seeing the most need," Howell said yesterday from his Phoenix office. "The need was there at some levels, but it didn't justify a full-service branch."

Bank of America patrons with questions or complaints can call the customer service hotline at (800) 284-8491.

David J. Cieslak can be reached via e-mail at David.J.Cieslak@wildcat.arizona.edu.